


Good to be home

by coookie_caat



Category: Boruto: Naruto Next Generations, Naruto
Genre: Aged-Up Character(s), Alternate Universe - Canon Divergence, Boruto tries his best to fix it, F/M, Friendship/Love, Implied/Referenced Torture, Other, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Psychological Torture, Slow Build, Slow Burn, Unrequited Crush, Violence, borusara - Freeform, dancing ball, sarada is a mess, sarada-centric, some OCs
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2019-04-11
Updated: 2019-12-29
Packaged: 2020-01-11 20:34:56
Rating: Mature
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, Graphic Depictions Of Violence
Chapters: 13
Words: 35,213
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/18431609
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/coookie_caat/pseuds/coookie_caat
Summary: Slow Burn BoruSara fanfic.Sarada returns home after her ANBU mission went terribly wrong. The peace festival is right around the corner and for the first time Boruto, Mitsuki, Sarada and all of their classmates are allowed to go to the Shinobi ball. Sarada isn’t really in a mood for celebration.  But Boruto insists that she has to come.





	1. Interruption

**Author's Note:**

> This is my first post of a fanfic and I’m pretty nervous (English isn’t my native language). Hope you enjoy :)

The wind rustled through the leaves of the threes. A fresh breeze that announced a cold night was on its way. Sarada Uchiha was standing motionless in the middle of a small forest clearing nearby the training fields.  Her eyes closed, she breathed calmly and tried to focus. The wind brushed some black hair out of her face, which welled to her waist. 

Her Sharingan lit up behind her glasses as she opened her eyes and jumped high into the air. With some loops and rotations, she threw eight kunai which hit each other in the right trajectory. One kunai missed its target and flew into some bushes.

  
As she landed, she looked angrily to the bush that swallowed her throwing knife. Sarada cursed.  She deactivated her Sharingan, which had reached the third stage of development. Even though she passed the Jonin-exams with only 14 years and became an ANBU member shortly after, she wasn’t able to activate the Mangekyou Sharingan. The Mangekyou was much more powerful than her eyes were now. But it wasn’t something she could train, her father explained her when she asked him frustrated. Only the trauma of loss or other drastic experiences would awake it.

  
Sarada sighed. Even with her 18 years she knew loss and trauma. Especially since her last ANBU mission went terribly wrong. And it had been her first ANBU mission as captain. It was her fault; the things that happened. But her eyes didn’t seem to care or she hadn’t suffered enough. Quickly, she shook her head before she lost herself in guilt and shame.  She went over to pick up her kunai. All of them - expect this one - hit the target in the bull’s-eye. As she picked them up she realised that her hands were shaking. Again.

  
How was she supposed to hit, when they were shaking? Frustrated she held her left hand still with the right one.  _Everything is alright. I’m save now. Breathe. Focus._ She told herself. Her thoughts were interrupted, when she heard her name.

“Sarada!” a familiar voice called.

Sarada frowned and let the kunai sink. She looked over her shoulder and saw Sumire approach with fast steps.

“Sumire…?” she answered and it sounded more like a question.

“There you are.” Sumire stopped and caught her breath for a second. “I was looking everywhere for you at the trainings field. Your Mom told me you would be there.”

“Sorry, I prefer the quite so I can concentrate more” Sarada said. Why was Sumire looking for her so desperately that she even visited her home? Yes they have been good friends when they went to the academy, but that was ages ago. Since they all became Genin and were divided up in teams, the two barely met up. 

“And since the peace festival is upcoming, I barely get some _peace_ ” She added with a forced smile.

The peace festival was a public holiday to celebrate the end of the Fourth Shinobi World War and to commemorate the fallen ones. Every year this day was celebrated with fireworks, food stands, stalls with different games. This was nothing new and Sarada always had liked this special day. But for the first time, her circle of friends and she would be allowed to the shinobi ball. It was a dancing ball with age restriction because of the amount alcohol. It was supposed to be the party of the year and everybody was excited to see this part the feast. Everybody, except Sarada.

“Yeah… I can image. About that…” Sumire seemed nervous and didn’t meet her gaze. “Well… I d-don’t know how to ask this.”

“Just simply ask” The Uchiha suggested.

“You know Boruto-kun for such a long time and…” she paused and looked up. Sarada only frowned and waited for other girl to continue.

“And I… I just wanted to be sure if… If you don’t want to… if I can ask Boruto to the ball?!” She finally ended. Saradas eyes widened. That was not was she expected. 

“Why do you even ask me that? You can ask whoever you want, Sumire” She answered. Questioningly she tilted her head and watched Sumire fidget. 

“Because- because you two are so close. And I wanted to ask you first, if you’re okay with that… Maybe- if Boruto-kun and I have a nice evening together- maybe we’ll be dating…” Sumire paused and blushed.

“Why shouldn’t I be okay with that?”

“Well, sometimes- sometimes you seem angry when some girls talk to Boruto-kun.”

“Only because this idiot enjoys his fangirls way too much. When they worship him, he gets this foolish narcissistic smile and…” She clenched her hands to fists. Then she realised that she would unsettle Sumire and exhaled slowly. “Anyway, I’m not jealous or something. I would be happy for both of you” Wouldn’t she? Boruto had been on a few dates with girls; but only for one dinner, because he was too polite to refuse.  What if he got a serious relationship? Would it interfere their special friendship? She pushed this thought away.  
“And I think, he’ll be happy to go with you” She added after a short pause.

“Really? You’re sure?” Sumire’s eyes were gleaming hopefully.

“Yes” She put a hand on the other girl’s shoulder.  “He would be a complete dumbass, if he says no. After all, you’re pretty and smart and strong. What more could he wish for?”

Sumire smiled widely. “You really think so? Thank you so much Sarada!”

Sarada forced a smile and Sumire seemed to notice. ”So, you’re really sure about that? Sometimes both of you seem so…” She pushed on.  


“Yeah. I know... And yes we are close. But that’s normal for team mates, isn’t it? And we basically know each other from day one. So we’ve a special bond. But I don’t see Boruto that way.” 

Sumire let out a relived breath. “I’m really glad about that. But I wanted to be sure. I don’t want this to end awkward.” 

More awkward then this? Impossible. But Sarada held her sarcastic comment back. She didn’t want to unsettle the insecure girl again and kept smiling. 

“Okay. Thanks again. Sorry that I bothered you. Good luck with your training!” Sumire rambled and turned away.

“Thanks. No problem.” She answered politely and was waving a goodbye. The Chunin went off and Sarada picked up some kunai again. But in her mind was wandering back to the conversation.


	2. Dark Memories

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarada gets home and realises that she is all alone (again). Dark memories haunt her, but then an unexpected visitor knocks at her window.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> WARNING: panic attacks, heavy angst, implied suicide attempt  
> Please don’t read if you’re not comfortable with these topics.  
> A darker chapter, this time. I hope you'll still enjoy :)

“I’m home” Sarada announced as she entered the flat she shared with her family, though her father was almost never home and her mother was often busy at the hospital.  She took her shoes off and waited for an answer.

“Mama?” she called. Nothing. The young Uchiha sighed and started roaming around. She found a little hasty note on the wooded dining table.

 

_Sarada, there is an emergency at the hospital. Food is in the refrigerator. Gomenasai.  
Love you, Mama_

She chuckled without joy. How many notes -like this one - did she get? She had stopped counting a long time ago. _Miserable self-pity won’t change anything. Your parents are important people. Other people need them more than you do,_ she thought to herself. She went to the refrigerator and opened the door. Although the food looked delicious, she decided that she wasn’t that hungry. Shower first, then food. Maybe her mother would be back until then.

Sarada entered the bathroom. Light-blue tiles decorated the walls and the ground, with shell-patterned tiles in-between.  Freshly cut flowers brightened the windowsill. She closed the curtains before she took off her clothes.

The new scars jumped into her eye when she looked into the mirror. The pink bulged lines formed a strong contrast with her pale skin and littered her upper body. Instinctively, she brushed them with her fingertips and remembered the pain the wounds had caused her. She saw how tried her onyx eyes looked; they seemed so much darker than usual. In this state, she wouldn’t stand a chance against any hostile person, especially her last enemies. They would tear her apart (again). Only this thought made her panic.

Her heart jumped and her throat tightened with fear. She gasped for air and her head throbbed in accord with her racing heart. She felt dizzy. Quickly, she turned away from the mirror, took off her glasses and placed them on the counter next to the sink. She got into the shower and turned cold water on. Another gasp escaped her lips when the icy water hit her, but at least she felt real and alive. She crouched on the floor and hugged her knees. Shivering and with a shaking breath, she waited for her heart to calm down.  Still the memories overcame her.

  
_Sarada was running through the darkness. She panted.  Only the occasional lightning strikes spend some light. Her clothes were soaked through and stuck on her skin. She was cold. Her lungs were burning and her throat bloody. She didn’t feel her legs but somehow she managed to get forward. She couldn’t stop. She had to reach the village or the sacrifices had been wasted. It had been her fault. She was responsible and needed to fix it as soon as possible. Thunders rumbled powerfully and drown out all the other noises._

_Her sense of time was long gone. She didn’t know how long she had been running. Hours? Days? A week? It didn’t matter. She had to keep moving._

_Sarada stumbled and fell into the mud. It hasn’t been the first time. Her knees were scraped. Her body didn’t obey her because she was to exhausted. With shaking arms she got up once again. Just a bit longer, she told herself for the thousandth time. I’m almost home._

_She ran further. Every second counted. Her mates were in danger. “Fuck…!” she cursed._

_She missed the root under her feet._

_She fell again._

_The young Uchiha hadn’t the energy to get up._

_Maybe if I rest for a while, I will have more energy to continue, she thought._

_To be honest, she had no idea where she was. She had lost her orientation in the storm._

_She turned herself on the back so she could breathe freely. The cold rain hit her face. She was staring into the sky. Dark-grey storm clouds hunted each other. The cold crept deep into her muscles. Her body became numb. Trance-like she was laying there. Waiting for the energy to get up again or waiting for the end to come._

_Suddenly, Sarada heard far voices shouting. Panic hit her body and she gasped. They had found her!  She couldn’t escape. They would take her back. She hadn’t the energy to resist anymore. And it was her duty to leave no tracks behind. She was an ANBU after all._

_“There she is! Common hurry!”  The voices yelled._

_She heard fast steps approach. Sarada thought of her parents, she was their only child and she would be gone, without a chance to say good bye. Her mind wandered to her team mates. Team 7. Konohamaru-sensei, who trusted her to take care of the boys and gave her the responsibility she wanted. Mitsuki, always smiling his bright smile and always observing. And Boruto…. A tear escaped her eye._

_“I’m so sorry…” She whispered. Her voice was raspy, because of her dry throat._

_With her last energy she formed the hand seals for the body elimination technique. A forbidden jutsu, which the ANBU had to learn on their first day. Even though she was scared of death, she wouldn’t go back alive. And they wouldn’t get any information from her body._

_This would be the end. At least this jutsu won’t cause her any pain._

_Nothing happened._

_She tried again._

_Even this jutsu was impossible without chakra._

_“No…” she croaked. This jutsu should use her inmost chakra, basically her life energy. It should be possible. Sarada didn’t want to go back to this hellhole. She tried again and again desperately, as she fainted from hyperventilating._

 

Sarada still felt the shock deep in her bones. Konoha-Shinobi had found her on their guard-duty. She had been only a few hundred meters away from the village entrance. However she had made it that far. Back then, she had tried to kill herself.  She had thought that it was the end. Sarada hadn’t told anyone. She was sure the guards had seen her trying to use the jutsu - and probably the Hokage and her mother knew. But nobody talked about it.

The cold shower brought her back to reality. Her hands were ice cold. She got up. Determined to get stronger and overcome this trauma.

She wanted to rescue her ANBU mates. They were her responsibility. She needed to get better. Otherwise Hokage-sama wouldn’t let her leave the village or help with the investigation. So she turned the regulator to a more pleasing temperature. Quickly, she washed her long hair and her body; then she got out and dried off. She took an extra towel for her thick black hair and rubbed them as dry as possible. Afterwards Sarada brushed her hair until it fell shiny over her shoulders. She tried to avoid another look in the mirror. Then, with a towel wrapped around her body, she made her way to her room.

Sarada was standing in front of her closet and searched for some clean and comfy clothes. A weird sound interrupted her and she jumped. Tense, she waited and listened while her heart was hammering in her chest. There it was again, a scratching sound behind her window. A loud well-known knocking-pattern followed.

She let out a relieved sigh. Boruto. Only he used this since they were children. He visited her often at her window, just another rebellious thing – like sitting on top of a train instead of sitting IN the train. Sarada had a little smirk on her lips. He never changed. But then she realised that she was basically naked and her team mate in front of the window. She blushed and ran to the wall next to the window, out of sight.

“Oy, Sarada? You there?”  Boruto called.

“Yeah you idiot! But I just got out of the shower and I need a second.” She answered annoyed.

“WHA..?!” he exclaimed. “Sorry! Sorry…!”

“Just don’t look. I let you in when I’m ready.” She didn’t wait for an answer.

Quickly, she went back to her closet. She grabbed a simple lose black t-shirt, some panties and red pyjama shorts. She got dressed and opened the window afterwards. Boruto climbed into her room. He was now five inches taller than her; he passed her two year ago and loved to tease her with that.  
She crossed her arms and looked up to him. He didn’t only get taller; he also looked more mature now. His jawline got more edged and sometimes beard stubble covered his chin. But he always shaved it off, because he couldn’t grew a proper one yet. His blond hair were as always wildly tousled and his Konoha headband barely tamed it. He wore his usual clothing; black pants, white t-shirt with a V-neck – which showed a glimpse of his collarbones and his well-trained body - and a black jacket with magenta stripes. He had his hands in his pockets and looked everywhere, just not at her. His cheeks were burning pink.

“What do you want, Boruto?” She asked sharply. It sounded rougher than intended.

“Ehrm… sorry.” He apologized mumbling.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Next chapter will have a lot of Boruto/Sarada interaction :)  
> Again please excuse any mistakes (not beta read) ^^’  
> Please leave Kudos and comment if you like :)


	3. Real talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boruto won't let loose and tries his best to get through to Sarada. But what he finds out, doesn't make him happy at all.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> First (longer) chapter with Boruto's POV.  
> Lot of interaction between Boruto and Sarada in this one.  
> I tried to capture their special relationship. (And I'm actually quite satisfied how it turned out)  
> Sorry again for any grammatical (or other) mistakes. I tried my best.

The window was slightly open and Boruto almost burst into Sarada’s room. Luckily, he hadn’t. When he heard that Sarada just got out of the shower, his heart started race. Unintentionally, he imaged how his team mate and best friend was standing in her room with nothing on except a towel. And then he had to image what was underneath this towel… But as Sarada had ordered, he didn’t dare to spy through the window. Boruto shook his head to get rid of these inappropriate thoughts. It was Sarada after all and he shouldn’t think about her that way. He felt his face was burning red, when he climbed into Sarada’s room.

Now she was standing in front of him with her arms crossed, in nothing but a pyjamas shorts and a loose black t-shirt which slipped over one of her shoulders. Therefore her collarbone was shown. Her ANBU tattoo on her left upper arm was partly visible; the black formed a strong contrast to her pale skin. Normally she covered it up with her Konoha headband when she was on non-ANBU missions or walking around in civilian clothing. Her hair was still damp and fell over her left shoulder and reached almost her bellybutton. She didn’t wear her glasses; they were probably lying in the bathroom. So, her clear and dark onyx eyes stared right into his sky blue ones. She looked tried, dark circles were under her eyes. Then, Boruto realised that her cheeks were lightly pink, because off the hot shower, he assumed.

“What do you want, Boruto?” She sounded really pissed.

So he mumbled another apology and dodged her piercing glare. He gulped hard. “I didn’t think you would train until sundown.” He added. “It only has been a few days since you left the hospital, ya know. You should take it easy for a little while.”

When Sarada got her first ANBU mission as captain she had been super excited. She couldn’t talk about the details, because of ANBU secrecy and Boruto wasn’t an ANBU member. But her eyes were gleaming as she told Mitsuki and him that she would leave the village for a while. The mission was supposed to last two weeks, but the ANBU team - Sarada was leading - didn’t return after this period of time. Boruto had been worried and asked his father about the mission, told him to send another team to look after the ANBUs. But the Hokage only answered that ANBU mission were always unpredictable and Sarada had sent a message on the tenth day of the mission that they would investigate a little bit deeper than planned. Naruto didn’t seem to worry as much, so Boruto thought everything would turn out alright.

After almost three months, during a storm, Sarada was found nearby the village. She lost consciousness and was wounded. Her life wasn’t in danger but she had been poised with some weird toxin and her body was exhausted. Boruto visited her every day at the hospital. Aunt Sakura, Mitsuki and he kept alternately watch at her bed. She slept five days and when she woke up, it was her mother who sat next to her bed. Her team mates had been busy in that moment. The two young men were supposed to go on a mission that was planned for a long time. But neither Mitsuki nor Boruto agreed to leave the village when Sarada was left behind like that. When they went back to the hospital, they were told that Sarada was awake but didn’t want any visitor. She had to rest anyways. Boruto insisted; but Mitsuki held him back and told him to respect Sarada’s wish. After only two days Sarada left the hospital and they’ve barely spoken since. She avoided her team mates and friends, always babbled something about ‘being very focused on training’. And Boruto hated it.

Her dark eyes turned grim. “Shut up. I know what I do. This is none of your business.”

He took a small step forward and reached out for her. Then he changed his mind and put his hand back in his pocket. “Of course it’s my business. You’re my friend and I care.” He said.

“Whatever.” She paused and looked away. “I’m fine.” She underlined it with a wave of her hand. Boruto wasn’t convinced but he stayed silent. He knew if he would dig deeper she would only push him away.

“But you didn’t come to lecture me about training, did you?” She added after a while, looking at him again.

“You got me there.” He chuckled and tried to lighten the mood. When he noticed that he would only get a frown from her, his smile vanished. She never has been so rejecting before. He considered if he just ask her if something was wrong, but he realised that she wouldn’t tell him – not when she was in this mood. So he decided to move on to the topic, why he came.

“Well, I heard that you rejected some of our friends when they wanted to ask you out to the ball and…” He made a pause and Sarada blushed hard. She was uncomfortable with that; he saw it.

“Yeah. I did. So what?” she mumbled.

“I just wanted to be sure that you will go to the Shinobi ball. Despite your rejections.” He finished.

Sarada groaned and turn away from him. He grinned, she really knew him well. She knew that he wouldn’t let up until he gets what he wants. She let herself fall onto her bed and covered her eyes with her forearm.

“Boruto, I’m not in a celebration mood right now. Just go with the others and leave me alone. Everyone else will be there, enough people you can party with.” She sounded so tired that Boruto felt guilty for a second.

“Exactly! Everyone will be there! You have to come too! It’ll be a good distraction.” He exclaimed.

“Y’all will have fun anyways. One person more or less doesn’t matter.” She muttered, still not looking at him.

“That’s not true.” He answered and took a few steps towards the bed. “It matters. You matter… to me…”

Sarada lifted her arm and looked at him in surprise. Her onyx eyes reflected emotions, Boruto couldn’t identify. Anger? Hope? Uncertainty? They stared at each other for a moment and then Boruto realised that his words could be interpreted in another way. His heart made a jump. THAT was not something he wanted to imply.

“Did Sumire talked to you yet?” Sarada sat up.

The sudden chance of subject irritated Boruto. “What? Sumire? No, we haven’t seen each other in a while. Why?”

“Oh, okay.” She looked through the window.

“You can’t change the subject like that and then evade my question.” He said angrily. “Why do you ask about Sumire, all of the sudden?”

“You will see.”

“That no answer.” He growled.

“Well, I ain’t a snitch! So shut up!” Sarada snapped.

Boruto sighed and ran with his fingers through his messy hair. “So you will be there, or what?”

She sighed too and let herself fall back onto her pillow. “I don’t have any traditional clothing anyways. And the ball is in only five days. Don’t force me to go shopping. You know, how much I hate it.”

“Except, when it is gear for missions or training. I know.” Boruto continued with a smile. She was so unlike other girls and only went shopping when Chouchou didn’t leave her a choice. But he didn’t buy her excuse and went to her closet. “I’m sure you have something that suits the occasion.”

She growled. “You think that’s some lame excuse, because I don’t want to go? Please, I would come up with something better!”

He opened her closet doors without asking and went through her clothes on garments. Sarada didn’t stop him; she was still lying on her bed. Quickly, he ran through different outfits. Then, Boruto froze at her ANBU uniform. It was worn-out and badly damaged. Even the grey flak jacket had countless cuts and hole in it. But Sarada hadn’t been wounded so badly, he thought. When she was in the hospital she just needed a few patches and some rest. His fingers ran across the torn fabric.

Sarada realised that he had been quiet for way too long and looked up. In a second, she was standing next to him and ripped her uniform out of his hands.

“Gimme that!” She snapped.

“What happened to you, Sarada?” He asked concerned while glaring at her. “You’re not yourself lately. Since you’re back, you act so different.”  
She didn’t meet his gaze and looked down to her hands which still held the uniform.

“It’s not an act. I don’t wanna talk about.” Sarada whispered so quietly that Boruto barely catched it.

He got angry. He was just incredibly worried about her, because he cared so deeply. Couldn’t she see? But he tried to stay calm. If he was yelling at her, she would just shut him out even more.

“I know you don’t want to talk about it, but I’m worried, ya know? I respected your wishes. I gave you space and time. I’m your best friend. I deserve an answer, don’t I? And don’t start about ANBU secrecy again!” His voice was trembling.

He saw that his words reached her. She seemed torn between her wish to open up and to push him away. “I will not tell you anything about the mission.” He wanted to protest but she raised a hand and interrupted him. “I will just tell you this.”

Another pause. He saw that she was searching for the right words. Her whole body started shaking. “For the first time… I thought I would really die.” Just a hoarse whisper.

Bourto’s heart clenched painfully and his eyes widened, but he stayed silent. Scared that he would say something wrong or he would interrupt her. He wanted to reach out for her but she already continued. So he froze and listened.

“I mean we already had many close calls, but this hadn’t been anything like that. We-… we always had the chance to dodge away or to heal each other. But this time… I-…I was completely helpless. I thought I had to die and there was nothing I could do about it!”

Her hands let go of the uniform and she broke down. But Boruto didn’t let her fall and held her in a tight embrace, while violent sobs shook her. She gasped for air and he realised that she had trouble to breathe properly. He loosened his grip and stroke gently her damped hair and her back, prevented her from hyperventilating.

He could barely image that there was any situation, where Sarada could be helpless. She had always been so strong and smart; he could always count on her no matter what. Often she noticed any close situation first and she had saved his ass countless times. What hell had she been through?

They were standing in this close embrace for almost an hour until Sarada finally was able to calm down. Embarrassed she detached herself from him and took a step back. Her eyes were puffy and red. On her cheeks, the tears had left salty lines. Without a second thought, he stroked them gently away with his thumbs. Shocked by the gesture, she took another step back and he let his hands sink.

“Sorry. I didn’t-“ He started.

“No. I’m sorry. Sorry, that you had to see this.” Her voice was raspy. “You shouldn’t have to see this.”

She looked away from him and he resisted the urge to reach out for her again. For the first time in his life, Sarada seemed small and fragile.

“Don’t you dare telling anyone about this! Not my parents or your father!” Sarada suddenly said with the familiar fire in her eyes. There she is, he thought.

He lifted his hands in defense. “Hey I won’t. Don’t worry. Who do you think you’re talking to?”

“To an idiot.” She smirked. “And I’m the idiot that trusts him.”

“See? At least we’re equal!” He said. Both of them laughed. Boruto felt grateful that he could make her laugh again, even though it just was a small one.

He sighed and scratched his head. “Okay you won. You don’t have to come if you don’t want to.” But he knew that Sasuke-sensei was coming for the festival. Which meant he and Aunt Sakura would go together to the ball. And everyone else would go to. This would leave Sarada alone in an empty flat with her inner demons. He couldn’t stand this thought.

“I will be happy to stay with you for the evening. I don’t want to leave you alone, when you’re having such a hard time.” His voice didn’t tolerate any contradiction. A pause resulted.

Sarada exhaled slowly and looked up to him.

“Fine! I will go too!” She crossed her arms again and seemed as determined as always.

“Huh?” Boruto was confused.

“Maybe you’re right and it will help me to distract myself. And I really haven’t seen the other in a long time. I’ve been way too busy.” She explained.

“Are you sure?” He asked. “My offer still stands. Fuck the stupid ball, I mean it.”

“Yeah I’m sure.”

“Okay.” Another weird pause built up. Both of them seemed clueless what to do.

“Well, I’m glad you’re coming.” He finally said with a huge smile. “See ya!” He turned to the window.

“Wait Boruto.” Sarada said suddenly. When he turned back, she didn’t meet his gaze. “You want to stay with me for dinner? There is enough in the refrigerator. It seems Mama still needs some time at the hospital. And…. I don’t wanna be alone right now.”

He tried to make no big deal about it. He knew how much Sarada hated to admit her discomfort and insecurity. “Sure thing, Aunt Sakura’s food is always really good.”

So he stayed for the evening and they ate together, talking about nothing really important. They were joking around and laughed together, like nothing had happened. Boruto left in the middle of the night, shortly after Sakura arrived. He had a weird warm feeling in his stomach and was indescribably happy that he had finally been able to get through to his best friend.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Soo... how did I capture them? Please, tell me what you think in the comments.  
> Thanks for reading :)


	4. Shopping tour

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarada needs traditonal clothing for the shinobi ball.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry I'm late but life and a lot of stuff is happin' right now so...  
> Hope you still enjoy :)  
> A lighter chapter this time.  
> Sarada interaction with Mama-kura, Chocho and Himawari.  
> Traditional clothing is complicated stuff so just google it.  
> Kimono - robe-like dress  
> Jūnihitoe - fancy multi-layered Kimono  
> Obi - wide belt for a Kimono  
> Tabi - special socks  
> Zōri - sandals

The following day, Sarada called Chocho and asked if she wanted to join her on her shopping tour. As she expected her close friend got way too excited and babbled about the shops they had to visit and were they could eat lunch. With a grin she hung up and made her way down to the kitchen where her Mama sat. She drank some coffee and was reading the newspaper.

“Good morning Mama” Sarada greeted her and gave her a quick small kiss on the forehead. Then she went for the cupboards, took her favourite cup and filled it with coffee. Pure black coffee. She sat across her mother and warmed her hands with the cup.

“Someone is in a good mood today” Sakura noticed. She brushed a strand of her rose –still messy – hair out of her face and looked at her daughter with a smile. “You finally slept well?”

“Yes. And I will go into town with Chocho today.” Sarada took a sip. It was true; she had barely slept after she woke up in the hospital. Nightmare haunted her and she often felt worse than before, when she woke up. But yesterday she felt so exhausted after her two panic attacks; she had fallen into her bed after her mother arrived. She had slept ten hours straight without a nightmare. Maybe she should really open up about what happened. Or she should spend more time with Boruto. He always knew how to make her feel better. Just his scent soothed her sometimes. She pushed that thought away and looked up to her mother.

“Oh.” Sakura seemed surprised. “That’s a good idea. What will you two do?”

“Well, yesterday Boruto annoyed me so much until I promised to go to this stupid Shinobi ball… And I don’t have any traditional clothing.”

“So Boruto and you will go together to the ball?” Her Mom suggested.

“WHAT?!” Sarada exclaimed. “No! No, he just asked if I’ll be there, not if I’ll be his accompaniment!”

“Ah. Okay. It just sounded like that for a second.” A cheeky smile ran across Sakura’s face.

“You know Boruto and I aren’t that way.” The young Uchiha muttered annoyed and took another long sip.

“Things change sometimes.” Sakura replied.

“And some things never change. Please can you drop it?” Sarada asked annoyed. Subconsciously, she scratched one of her new scars under the fabric, before she took another sip. Her mom caught this small movement.

“How do you feel, sweetie?” Her mother’s voice was soft and quiet like she was afraid to startle her. Sarada looked up, irritated by the sudden change of her mood. She swallowed her coffee the wrong way when she met her mother’s gaze, overwhelmed by the vast emotions in her eyes.

 “I’m fine –“ She coughed. “Everything healed properly.” When she arrived in Konoha, she already had the scars. The wounds she had at that moment were healed by the medics without leaving a scar behind. They are more competent than _he_ was; the scars were from _him_.

_“I’m not very good at this, you know. And these burns are pretty nasty. But if you pass out every two minutes… that’s no fun.” His soft high voice whispered. She smelled her own burnt flesh and almost threw up._

Sarada swallowed hard and for a second she still had that smell in her nose.  She smiled her best fake smile. “I’m fine Mama. Soon I will be completely back on my feet again. Then I can end my mission.”

Sakura didn’t seem to be convinced and looked down into her cup. Sarada’s stomach contracts with guilt. Shizune had told her, when she had been delivered to the hospital, her mom clenched her unconscious body in her arms, crying and screaming, afraid of losing her only child. They needed five people and sedatives to separate her mother from her, so the medics could examine and treat her injuries.

She reached out for her mother’s hand. “It will not be like last time. I promise.” Sarada tried her best to sound really convincing and confident. There was nothing else she could say to make her mother feel better.

Suddenly the bell rang. She got up.

“That must be Chocho. See you later Mama. Love you!” She said with a last squeeze of her mother’s hand.

“Love you too. Be careful!” Sakura said.

“Will do!” Sarada answered and opened the door.

“Look who finally left the training fields for some real fun!” Chocho said with a wide smile. The plump chubby girl had grown into a quite beautiful young woman. She wasn’t skinny or muscular, but her weight had shifted, so she got a well-curved body. Her chocolate skin was pure, her brown hair was smooth and her amber eyes sparkled sassy.

“Was about time we get you a proper outfit for the ball. I knew you would change your mind. Nobody wants to miss the party of the year! I’m so super excited! We will see all these older Shinobi men in hot traditional clothing and we will be dancing and…” Chocho continued with dreamy eyes, while Sarada closed the door behind her and they made their way into town. The young Uchiha had a wide honest smile on her face, amused by the excitement of her long-time friend.

“Why did you change your mind exactly, Sarada?” Chocho asked and stopped her own flood of words.

“Ehhm… Well, Boruto visited me yesterday and bothered me until I pro missed him I would go.” Sarada answered and didn’t meet Chocho’s gaze.

“So if I’m beggin’ on my knees, you just show me your cold shoulder… and if Boruto asks… “ She smiled sassy. “Seems like I have to thank Boruto then. Finally I get some quality time with my best friend. It felt like ages we’ve been hanging around like that. Miss ‘I-wanna-be-Hokage’ is always so busy and has so many duties and stuff to do.” The reproach in her voice couldn’t be ignored. Chocho pouted.

“I’m really sorry Chocho. I’ve neglected a lot of people, who are very dear to me. And you’re one of them.” Sarada made a small bowing gesture, while they kept walking. “I’ve just been so busy and on missions lately that I cut you short.” She placed a hand on her friends shoulder and gave her a squeeze.

“Awww… I can’t stay angry at you!” Chocho smiled at her and she smiled back.  “How about we get a proper lunch first and then we’ll look for something pretty?”

“Works for me” Sarada answered. So they went to a fast food restaurant and talked about minor things. For the first time since she returned, Sarada felt really relaxed. No dark thoughts were wandering in the back of her mind.

 

 

“How about this one? You would look great in it!” Chocho suggested while she held up a wine-red dress decorated with black embroidery. It was inspired by a Cheongsam; a traditional dress which had a high closed collar, no sleeves, ankle length and slits on the sides for more mobility. Except this dress was backless… A cold shiver ran through Sarada by the thought of her exposed disfigured back.

“No thanks.” The Uchiha looked away from the dress. “It’s a traditional dress, but not from the Land of Fire. And it shows way too much skin.”

“Eh? Who cares? Common at least try it on! You will look so great! You have porcelain skin!” Suddenly, Chocho was standing next to her and tried to pull her towards the changing rooms. Sarada freed her arm violently.

“I said no!” She snapped and Chocho froze. Just then she realised how loud she had been and everybody in the store was staring at her.

She cleared her throat. “I’m sorry Chocho. I didn’t want to yell at you.”

“Jeez… You’re still troubled by this ANBU mission, aren’t you?” Chocho discovered.

“Yes… It didn’t turn out so well.” Sarada answered quietly.

Chocho knew she didn’t want to talk about it and put the dress back where she took it. She stayed quiet for a while.

“How about a nice embroidered Kimono then? Or maybe a Jūnihitoe?” Her friend suggested and Sarada was grateful that she understood her without questioning her about it.

“A Jūnihitoe? No way I’ll wear such a complicated multi-layered thing!” Sarada laughed and tried to lighten the mood.

Chocho took it. “But they are so fancy! You would look like a princess. A Uchiha princess!” She exclaimed and tried to bother Sarada with different, too fancy and expensive Kimonos.

 

After some hours, they bought all the clothes they needed. Sarada choose a plain black Kimono with white borders. She and her mother would embroider the Uchiha-Clan symbol on the back, she decided. Her father would love it. She bought a fancy Obi in contrast, which had a pattern of different red shades; simple white Tabi and straw-woven Zōri in addition.

Sarada thought they could head home now, she was exhausted from the shopping tour and it was late in the afternoon. But Chocho held her back.

“Where do you think you’re going? This was only the half of or shopping tour!” She said.

“Huh?!” Sarada looked down at her filled shopping bags.

“You forgot about the make-up!” Chocho smirked at her.

“Urgh. Do I have to?” The Uchiha sighed. She never thought make-up was a necessary thing for her. She always has been lucky; she had a pure pale face without skin irritations and long dark eye lashes which framed her onyx eyes.

“Of course you have to!” Chocho sounded almost offended.  So her friend dragged her into a cosmetic shop.

While Sarada listened to Chocho endless hooey about different eye-shadows and their shades she got a glimpse of a familiar slender figure.

“Hey Himawari!” Sarada called, excited to meet the younger girl again. It’s been a long time since they spoke the last time, but the Uchiha really loved that younger girl like a sister, she never had.

Himawari winced and turned around. “Sarada?” She asked unbelievingly. Her face brightened with a wide smile when Sarada came over. The girls hugged for a short time.

“Did you grow even more?” The older one asked when she let go.  “You’re almost as tall as I am!”

As she inspected Himawari, she realised that the 16-year old girl really became a young woman. Her dark hair –she got from her mother – was braided back in a lose tail. She had sky-blue eyes just like her brother. The four whiskers from her father were really thin, barely visible. Under her pale orange Hakama with the Uzumaki-clan symbol on the back, she wore the Hyuga-trainings gear. She probably had trained with her Aunt Hanabi.

Chocho joined them. “What do you do here Hima?” She asked.

Himawari blushed and looked away. Guilty like she had been caught doing something forbidden.

“Just lookin’. For the peace festival…” She answered.

“It sucks that you aren’t allowed to go to the ball with all of us.” Sarada said. The other girl was pretty mature for her age and wouldn’t drink without control.

“Yeah. It’s not like I would drink anything. But my father doesn’t allow it. ‘I can’t make any exceptions. I’m really sorry, ya know.’” She imitated her father with a foolish voice.

Sarada smiled.

“I know Inojin would love to take you to the ball” Chocho teased.

Himawari blushed hard. Sarada smiled even wider.

“You two make a great couple.” She stated.

“Please don’t tell my brother or my father. They still think I’m a little helpless girl.” Himawari begged and it was directed at Sarada.

“My lips are sealed” She promised and Himawari smiled back.

“So you two will have an evening for yourself then, because everyone else is at the ball. Am I right?” Chocho teased again.

Himawari seemed shocked and Sarada asked Chocho. “Why do you know that?”

“Well my boys always come to me with their girl problems. “ Chocho smirked sassy. “Wasn’t nice of you to reject Shikadai like that by the way.” Her eyes pierced Sarada.

“What?! He told you that?!” Sarada exclaimed. Shikadai and she played often chess, because she wanted to improve her tactical skill.

_“Even though it will probably be annoying… All of our friends will be there so I thought- maybe you and I can go together.” Shikadai didn’t meet her gaze and scratched the back of his head._

_“As friends?” Sarada suggested. She looked up from the chess board._

_Shikadai swallowed hard. “Yeah! Of course as friend! Not a date or anything. Just together, because my mom annoys me. She wants pictures and stuff…”_

_“I’m sorry Shikadai. I will not go at all.”_

“Oh man… This will be embarrassing. “ Sarada said and was clueless how to avoid any award situation.

Chocho and Himawari laughed at her face.

 

After they talked for a bit and Sarada finally bought enough make-up to satisfy Chocho, they all separated and went home. It was almost sundown and Sarada was hopeful. Today she just thought about it twice and she hadn’t any attack. It will get better. It has to.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think?


	5. Father and Daughter

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sasuke is back in town. He heard about the mission of his daughter and that she returned badly wounded.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know you all want to know what will happen at the ball, but this is a slow-build story, so please have patience with me :)  
> A chapter about Papasuke and Sarada. I hope you enjoy :)  
> (This time I've tried another form of flashback)

The next day, after a short Yoga session, Sarada opened her window widely, so she could feel the fresh breeze of spring. Birds chirped in the trees outside her window. She turned on her music player and added some acoustic melodies to the birdsongs. Then, she sat down to embroider her Kimono with red and white yarn.  Even she didn’t want to admit it; she was excited for the festival after all. It was good that Boruto came and convinced her.  

With every stich, the clan symbol began to take shape. Her clan symbol.

_For a long time, Sarada didn’t even know what it meant to be an Uchiha. She thought the clan was only known for the Sharingan, which was a truly powerful Kekkei Genkei. And she learnt that her father and she were the only Uchiha’s left, ‘due to a grave misfortune’. But every time she tried to dig deeper to learn anything of the past of her father or her ancestors, she faced great resistance. Nobody told her anything. Nobody wanted to talk about it, no matter how much Sarada begged or raged._

_This only changed when Sarada had trained for her Jonin Exam, together with some other –mostly older – Chunin. In this time, she met a lot of new people she didn’t know, but surprisingly they knew her. Some were friendly, other looked at her with a pejoratively stare. Of course Sarada gave everything she got during the training and she managed to defeat many of the older shinobi. Therefore a group of them built up against her. They whispered behind her back, laughed and looked over with a condemning face. The young Uchiha girl tried to ignore it as long as she could, but she had only a limited amount of patience._

_One day she faced them and asked what they were whispering about._

_“Oh nothing. We only discussed how long it will take until you will have your ‘Uchiha-wants-to-destroy-village-phase’.”_

_These worlds pierced her heart. And there was nothing she could say in her defence, because she could only assume what the older ones were talking about. For the first time she was speechless and unable to counter. When she told her mother that day, she was really desperate to learn about the past of the clan. The past of her father. And somehow it was her own past too. Her mom tried to shake it off and said the other only envied her strength._

_But Sarada didn’t give up. She annoyed her mother, middle-aged shinobi and even the Seventh, everybody who could know anything about the past of her clan. Finally, the Nanadaime showed mercy and contacted her father. When he arrived, she faced him very determined. He realised that he could dodge her questions anymore. She wanted answers._

_So he started to tell her about his early childhood and how the Uchiha were the Konoha Military police force for many years. Sarada had read that already and she knew there had been numerous Uchihas. She didn’t interrupt her dad, when he talked about his strict father and his gentle mother. For a long time, he talked about his older brother Itachi, Sarada’s uncle. How skilled he had been, how early he joined the ANBUs and how much Sasuke looked up to him._ Sarada still remembered his smile.

_But then he started to tell about the Uchiha Downfall. How the entire clan was slaughtered in one night. It has been her uncle. He only spared Sasuke. Sarada had been overrun by her feelings, when she heard this. Her emotions switched between horror, disbelief and sorrow._

_Without waiting, her father continued and explained how this misfortune had built up. He talked about the foundation of Konohagakure, about Marada and Hashirama and about their rivalry –_

A soft knock at her bedroom door interrupted her thoughts. “Come in!” She said and expected her mom coming back from work. When she looked up as the door opened, she froze. Her father, Sasuke Uchiha was standing in her door frame.

“Papa!” She exclaimed surprised and stood up. “I expected you would only come to the festival. Not some days ealier.”

His facial expression was hard to read. He just stood there; hand on the door knob while he was looking at her. She didn’t let this insecure her, he always had a hard time showing his emotions.

“Look I’m personalising my Kimono for the ball.” She held it up, smiled widely and showed him the half-finished Uchiha symbol.

Out of nowhere, her father hugged her tightly with his one arm. His face buried in her hair. Sarada was surprised by his sudden outburst of affection, but she hugged him back with a grin. She breathed in his familiar soothing scent. It has been almost five months since he had been home.  She had really missed him. After an appropriate moment she tried to release the hug, but her father still held her.

“Papa?” She asked, now truly irritated.

“Your mother told me what happened.” He answered with a hoarse whisper.

Sarada stiffened.

“I instantly travelled here, when I got the message. But my falcon needed his time.” He tried to justify.

Gently but also certain she pushed him back, released the embrace so she could look him in the eye.

“Papa, I’m not angry or something. Just because I was a little bit hurt you didn’t need to come. If you had been here, it wouldn’t have changed anything. Of course I’m happy that you’re here but –“

“You weren’t just hurt! Your mother thought she would lose you!” He raised his voice, his eyes were glimmering. He gripped her shoulder with his right hand.

“You know Mama is always a little bit dramatic.” Sarada answered, tried to appease the situation.

“It’s not just your mother; Naruto told me you were tortured!” His fingers dug unintentionally deep into her shoulder.

That hit her like a strike; she felt betrayed by the Nanadaime. She took a step back and stayed silent. Why? Why had Hokage-sama shared this information? It had been a secret mission. When she reported back, she felt safe.

“And he had told me about your team mate, who died. I’m so sorry, my sweetie.” He tried to approach her again, but she turned her back on him. She was barely able to hold back her tears, but she wouldn’t cry in front of her father. It would only prove that he was right and he should worry. That she was too weak to handle the past events properly.

“I knew what I got myself into, when I joined the ANBUs. I knew these things could happen. Sooner or later it would happen.” She said emotionless.

“But it’s different when it really happens.  And torture-“ He started.

“I survived, didn’t I? It will make me stronger eventually.”

Sasuke didn’t seem satisfied with her answer. He seemed to worry even more.

“You don’t need to worry any more, Sarada. I will take care of them.”  Her father stated. His eyes burnt vengefully.

“What?!” Sarada exclaimed and turned around.  “You can’t do that! It’s important to me, Papa!”

“Naruto and I already talked; I will join the ANBUs who are observing this group of criminals’ right after the peace festival.” He was serious.

Now she truly felt betrayed. Her heart contracted. There was nothing more, she wanted to do than rescuing her ANBU team mates herself. Hokage-sama and Sarada agreed that s _he_ would join the observing team after she rested for two weeks. And now her father should do her job? Why didn’t they trust her anymore? They lost faith in her abilities and this made her furious.  

“No! I’ve been their captain! They are my responsibility! It’s my job not yours!” She yelled.

“But after all what happened, you won’t have to do this. I will-“ He tried to interrupted her.

“You will not!  _I_ will! It’s my fault they’re in this situation!” She never talked to her father like that. And she didn’t want to yell at him. But it was all too much.

 “Sarada – “

“I will make this right! I have to! Don’t you understand? Haven’t you felt anything like this before?” She asked angrily.

“I can image, but – “ Sasuke began.

“And this?!” Sarada threw her Kimono on the ground and pointed on the clan symbol.  “Do you remember what I swore, when you told me about the past of the Uchihas?”

“Sa –“

“I will give everything I have, to clear our name! I have to be successful, so I can be an honourable kunoichi. I couldn’t live with myself, if I let my team mates down!” She breathed heavily, exhausted from her emotional outburst.

“Sarada, your eyes. You’re wasting chakra.” Sasuke said calmly.

Her hands reached up for her eyes and she realised that her Sharingan was activated. When did that happen? She hadn’t even noticed it. She couldn’t even control herself. Now her father would certainly not believe in her. He would think even more that she wasn’t able to handle things on her own. Sarada deactivated it and felt tears well up in her eyes. Sasuke took some steps and embraced her again.

“Fuck.” She whispered and let her suppressed feelings take over.  Violent sobs shook her body, while he held her and stroke her back.

“Papa… I’m a failure.” She said. “I’ve let them down. I was their captain and I led them into this. It’s my fault the Chunin is dead.”

“No sweetie. You know that isn’t true.” He answered quietly. “Horrible things happen and sometimes, there is nothing you can do.”

“It’s my fault.” Sarada repeated and sobbed. “I wasn’t strong enough.”

“They poised you. The poison was a strong sedative and it blocked your chakra. There was nothing more you could’ve done. Even I couldn’t have done more.” Sasuke said.

She didn’t believe him. He lied to calm her down. He always had been invincible. During the last war, he and his team sealed up a god-like creature.

Furthermore, these criminals, which assaulted her and her ANBU team, weren’t even real shinobis. They were only crazy scientists. Violent scientists. They shouldn’t have been a challenge for her and her team.

When her father realised that she wouldn’t talk, he continued.

“Somehow you managed to get out of there and maybe it sounds wrong, because you lost a mate but… I’m just so glad that you’re here. You got out and I’m proud of you.” He whispered.

She looked up to him; her vision was blurry from her tears.

“What?” Sarada was confused. _Proud?_

Sasuke stroked her hair. “After everything that happened, you still want to take care of it on your own. Unlike me, you want to face your problems. You don’t run away. You still obey Naruto and take your orders without protest. You don’t take off and try to free them on your own. That’s why I’m so proud of you. You are not like me; you are smarter and stronger than I was in my youth. You will truly make the name of the Uchihas great again.”

“Papa…” She sniffled and hugged him tight again, deeply touched by his words. “So you let me handle it on my own?” She mumbled into his shoulder.

“Yes. I’ve changed my mind. You’re right; this is your fight. I won’t interfere; you got this. I’ll talk to Naruto tomorrow.”

She breathed in deeply and calmed down. She convinced him. She would fix it.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Please comment below :)


	6. Before the storm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> This is a flashback chapter and shows the events before Sarada went on her ANBU mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I’m sorry you all had to wait for almost a month. The last chapter was the last pre-written one, so I need more time to update. But you get a loner chapter as reward.  
> A lot of comfort and fluff in this one. Hope you enjoy :) (As always not beta-read pls excuse mistakes)

_Sarada and Boruto agreed to meet at the training fields. They had planned a Kendō session, since both of them used a sword during combat. Sarada used a Katana during her ANBU missions as it was usual. And for Boruto, his sword became a permanent part of his fighting style. Sasuke taught them the basics of sword-fighting and they continued to improve it themselves. Sarada was able to combine her Katon and Raiton chakra with her sword fighting. And Boruto could do the same with his Raiton and Futon chakra. But for sparring, they didn’t use real swords or nin-justu, just bamboo swords._

_With full concentration, both circled each other, bamboo swords raised and ready to strike.  When Boruto was blinded by the sun Sarada flashed forward, but he expected her and blocked her casually with his sword. For some heart beats, they tested each other’s strength, pressed their swords against each other. The young Uchiha was very aggressive today. When they parted, Sarada jumped back, but Boruto was right after her. She was barely able to block his attack._

_“You’re sloppy today, Sarada!” Boruto said with a cheeky smile and stroke again. Sarada dodged and gritted her teeth. He was right she wasn’t focused. The talk with the Nanadaime had really made her upset. She tried to push these thoughts away to concentrate more. They went on for a while, but neither of them was able to break through the defence._

_Suddenly, Sarada stumble backwards, because of a tree root she missed and Boruto took the chance. The Uchiha hit the ground. Hard. The air escaped her lungs and she gasped. She cursed and rubbed the back of her head._

_“Fuck.” She cursed again._

_Boruto let the bamboo sword sink and offered his hand to help her up. She gripped her sword again and got up on her own. She adjusted her glasses and got back in fighting position._

_“Again!” She demanded._

_But Boruto didn’t listen and didn’t raise his sword. Normally, they would spar for hours, before one of them would get the chance to bring the other one down. Sarada could see it in his eyes that he was truly irritated._

_“Is something wrong?” Boruto asked._

_“Less talk, more training, Boruto” She simply answered, avoiding his question. The young Uchiha rushed forward and tried to hit him with the bamboo sword._

_But to her consternation, he was faster and grabbed her wrist roughly._

_“Too predictable, another mistake.” He grinned. “Come on, what’s going on?”_

_“I don’t wanna talk about it!” She growled, trying to free herself._

_He twisted her dominant arm until she let go of the sword. She gritted her teeth and hissed because of the pain. Steaming with rage, she wanted to punch his face and wipe of this arrogant grin. In response to that he dropped his own sword and stopped her fist with his palm. A loud thud resulted. Boruto didn’t smile anymore and made a grimace. Again, she tried to free herself from his tight grip._

_“Sarada, I care about you, please tell me.” He was really serious._

_Only then, she realised how close his face was. His blue eyes met her onyx ones and she saw how deeply concerned he was. She breathed in his familiar scent and pressed her lips together._

_“Fine.” She said annoyed and broke loose from him. Sarada took a few steps back to get some space between them and looked away._

_“Come.” Her best friend said after a pause and headed for a big tree. He jumped onto a big branch. Then he patted the space next to him. Sarada rolled with her eyes and followed him._

_“So, what’s on your mind?” He asked when she sat down._

_“Your father.” She mumbled unhappily._

_“A little bit more specific?” Boruto dug deeper._

_She sighed and continued. “You know that I’m an ANBU for almost four years now… and it seems like I’m the only one, who doesn’t make any progress. Even some younger shinobi led an ANBU mission. And I never got a standalone mission. And when I confronted him this morning… I wanted an own command for the next ANBU mission but… Your father lost faith in me.” The last words got stuck in her throat. The young Uchiha always admired the seventh Hokage and wanted to impress him, his rebuke hurt her deeply._

_“That’s stupid! He should know how talented you are. I mean he trained you for some months. And all our Team 7 missions - with you as captain - were successful. ” Boruto tried to comfort her with his compliments._

_“The results were successful, but we had a lot of close calls, when I led the missions.” Sarada reminded him. She didn’t want to accuse her best friend, but Boruto always had been reckless and didn’t follow every command, so they often got in trouble._

_“That wasn’t your fault. Just coincidence.” He said._

_“Well. Whenever I ask Hokage-sama, he always says that I’m not ready yet. Today he did the same. Again. I stopped counting how many times I asked.” She muttered and wrapped her arms around her bended knees._

_“So when you said, you’ve confronted him… You didn’t really stand up for yourself, did you?” Boruto concluded._

_“He is the Hokage and my boss. Of course I didn’t yell at him!” Sarada answered as if it was obvious._

_“Maybe you should.” His eyes were glimmering sassy._

_“No I can’t.” She said and avoided eye contact._

_“Of course you can. You deserved it more than anyone else. Every day, you work your ass off! Nobody else works as much as you do. All the time, you’re in the library with Mitsuki or you’re planning and learning new tactics with Shikadai. Or special ANBU training. Or medical training and tai-justu with Aunt Sakura. Or sword-fights with me. Tell me, who does more?”_

_Boruto always knew how to make her feel better. He always found the right words._

_“No one.” She had to admit._

_“Exactly! So stop admiring my father and truly face him. He is a person, not a god. Don’t worship him.”_

_Sarada rolled her eyes. “You’re exaggerating. I’m not worshipping.”_

_Boruto’s eye widened. ”Really? Wait, let me try that..” He tried to imitate her, but acted way too extreme. “Oh Hokage-sama! I wanna be like you, please teach me Senpai! You’re totally the best Kage that ever lived, Nanadaime!”_

_She boxed his shoulder and he laughed. “Shut up! I’m not like that!” She protested, but really thought about her behaviour towards Naruto. Yes, she admired him, but she didn’t show it that manifestly. “If I’m like that, please kill me” She added and laughed too._

_“Okay, maybe I really exaggerated a little bit.” Boruto admitted. “But you still have to stand up for yourself or I will. You’re amazing and if my old man doesn’t see it, he is stupid and blind.”_

_Sarada grinned. “Thanks Boruto.”_

_*************************************************************************************************_

_This evening, Sarada gathered all her courage and went to the Hokage office without an appointment! It contradicted her urge to be polite and reasonable. But Boruto was right; she had to show how much she wanted to become ANBU captain. So she knocked at the office door and waited._

_“Come in.” Naruto answered._

_He sounded tired. Stings of remorse tied Sarada’s throat up, but she breathed in deeply and opened then the door. She entered the room and closed the door behind her. The sundown flooded the room in a pleasant orange light._

_“Sarada?” Naruto’s eyes widened and he seemed very surprised. “What can I do for you, at this late hour?”_

_“Naruto-sama.” She said determined. “I’m here, because I want to lead an ANBU mission.”_

_“I told you this morning-“ He begun, but the young Uchiha interrupted him._

_“You told me that I’m not ready yet. But with all due respect, I’ve proven myself many times._

_When I want to become Hokage someday, I have to improve my leading abilities. An ANBU mission is the perfect exercise. Unlike Jonin-missions, ANBU missions are mostly improvised and the captain has to make decisions in a matter of seconds.  
I train every day until my muscles give in. I read more books than I could count about history, great shinobi-warriors and leaders. I practice different tactical strategies with Shikadai. I have medical education. I…- “She stopped herself. She didn’t want to brag. “All I want to say is… _I _think I’m ready and I think I deserve a chance with an own command.”_

_Silence. She looked him in the eyes, determined. But her heart beat so fast, it nearly jumped out of her chest. After a few seconds, the Hokage smiled widely._

_“That’s all I needed to hear.” He said._

_“Huh?!” Sarada was confused and indignant._

_“How can I let you have a command for a mission with unpredictable outcome, when you don’t believe in yourself?” Naruto asked._

_The Uchiha stayed silent; perplexed by the sudden change._

_“I know, my opinion is very important to you..” He seemed unsure, because she was so quiet. He waited for her reaction. After a few heart beats, Sarada still didn’t know how to feel. Angry? Hurt? Relieved? Happy?_

_“Of course, your opinion of me is important. You’re my idol and my commander!” Too late, she realised that she almost yelled at him. She looked at the ground and tried to calm down. He gave her time._

_“This means you only said I’m not ready, because you wanted to test me?” She asked quietly._

_“Ehh… Yes. I need to make sure, that every captain is confident with their assignments. When they get doubts during the missions, it would endanger the entire group.”_

_“So I’ve could have been ANBU captain already, if I’ve faced you earlier?” Sarada felt stupid._

_Naruto laughed nervously and scratched the back of his head. “Well…yes.”_

_She still didn’t know how to feel. So she bowed. “Thank you for your honesty, Nanandaime.”_

_He made a gesture and she rose. “Come to me again, tomorrow. I will select a nice ANBU mission for you to lead. “_

_“Thank you.” She repeated and smiled with glimmering eyes. Finally! Finally, she could truly prove herself. When she turned around and was just about to leave, she heard him say._

_“Oh and Sarada.” Naruto added. She turned back around, looked at her role model questioningly. “When this mission will be successful, with you as leader…. Consider yourself as permanent ANBU captain.”_

_*************************************************************************************************************************_

**_BORUTO POV_ **

_“Ah. Shit. You’re getting better and better at this!” Boruto cursed and pressed the buttons of his game console aggressively. He invited Mitsuki to play some video games. But the weather was so nice; they decided to play their games, while relaxing in the Senju Park. Now they were resting in the shadow of a big leaf tree and let their video-game characters battle._

_“You taught me well, Boruto.” Mitsuki answered, quiet as always and smiled his wide grin. With a quick combo he finished off Boruto’s character._

_“Damn.” The Uzumaki said and let his console sink._

_He had the feeling, he heard something. “What was that?”_

_Mitsuki looked up. “Huh?”_

_“Borutoooo!”_

_He turned towards the voice and saw Sarada running towards them. Confused, he got up and tried to figure out, why his best friend was running._

_“Boruto!” She yelled again, with a big smile. Her eyes gleamed with joy._

_She didn’t slow down, even though she almost reached them._

_“Huh?” Was the only thing he got out, before she crashed into his arms and hugged him tightly. To absorb her speed, he swung around with her and she started laughing. Then he let her down and released the embrace; confused by her behaviour. She had almost tackled him to the ground!_

_She looked up to him, full of excitement. “You were right!” She said breathless._

_He raised an eyebrow. “You talked with my dad?”_

_“Yes! I did! And I got my own command!” She blurted out._

_“Congratulations! I knew you could do it!” Her joy was so infectious that he lifted her up and swung her around again. He knew how long she desired this position and how hard she had trained. They laughed together._

_“That’s really great, Sarada.” Mitsuki’s voice brought Boruto back to reality. He stopped and let her down. Embarrassed he took a step back and cleared his throat. Was his own behaviour award? Did he go too far?_

_But Sarada didn’t seem to bother and turned towards Mitsuki. “Thank you, Mitsuki! I can’t tell you more but… This mission will be exciting! My team and I will set out tonight. Maybe we will be gone for a month. I still have to prepare so much- but if I’m successful, I will become a permanent ANBU captain…” She chattered._

_A month? That was all Boruto could think about when he stared at his best friend, who still beamed. He hoped, she could finish her mission earlier and would return sooner. It will be weird without her._

_“Any way, I seriously owe you Boruto.” She said and interrupted his thoughts. Her blazing dark eyes met his._

_“Ah… I just gave you a little push.” He made a dismissive gesture._

_“No. You believed in me.” She said, suddenly very serious._

_The Uzumaki just smiled awkwardly and scratched the back of his head._

_“When I’m back, I will take you out for dinner as a reward. And it will be something fancier than Burgers.” She winked at him playfully._

_“There is nothing wrong with Burgers.” He mumbled and loosed their eye contract. He crossed his arms._

_“Okay… jeez better stick to Burgers then.” He heard her smile in her voice. Mitsuki’s golden gaze pierced him._

_After a few seconds, Mitsuki broke the silence. “I wish you the very best and a successful mission, Sarada. And when you still have to prepare stuff… you should better go.”_

_“Thanks. Yeah you’re probably right.” She turned halfway. “See you soon guys!”_

_“Stay safe!” Mitsuki said._

_“Yeah! Be careful. And kick some ass, even if it’s confidential.” Boruto said, but it felt like it wasn’t enough…_

_But she already started to run again. “Will do! Take care, too!” Sarada said and waved. Then she disappeared between the trees._

_Boruto still looked in the direction, where she went. He felt Mitsuki’s gaze on him again, so he turned and went back to the tree. But still, his team mate didn’t let him out of his sight._

_“What do you want?” He asked annoyed and stared back at him. As always, Mitsuki smiled bright._

_“You wanna talk about it?” He simply asked._

_“Huh? What? There is nothing to talk about.” Boruto warded off._

_Mitsuki tilted his head and his smile vanished.  His golden eyes looked so intense, it made Boruto uncomfortable._

_“I just worry about her. Don’t you?” He admitted._

_The pale young man shrugged his shoulders. “Not really. Sarada is capable to defend herself. She is talented, smart and has the Sharingan. It won’t be easy for her enemies. And she will be fine.”_

_Boruto sighed. “Yeah. You’re probably right.” He tried to shake off this feeling in his stochmach._

_***************************************************************************************************************************_

_He just couldn’t let her leave like that. So he grabbed his present, wrapped it into a blanket and ran to her flat. The full moon provided a good sight and flooded everything in mystical silver light._

_Boruto arrived at her window and knocked his pattern hesitant. The window sled open and he jumped in._

_“Boruto? What are you doing here? It’s almost 3 am and I have to go.” Sarada whispered sharply and adjusted her glasses._

_She was already in her ANBU uniform. The body armour nestled to her slim torso. Her long black hair was tied back in a high ponytail. She wore black gloves with long sleeves, which passed her elbows.  But the ANBU tattoo still was visible. But she only wore  one bracer._

_When he didn’t answer immediately, she turned her back on him and went back to her desk to adjust the second bracer. Her mask was also placed on the table. A falcon. She chose this animal, because her father has a falcon, which delivered his messages._

_“I just wanted to give you this before you go. Maybe you can use it on your mission.” He said quietly and showed her his bundle._

_She got back to him. With quick hands she unwrapped it and froze when she saw the sword. It was a Katana with black and red grip in a plain dark sheath. She reached out hesitantly._

_“Boruto… are you serious?” She whispered._

_“I got it already a long time ago and kept it for your promotion.” He answered._

_With both hands she took the Katana and drew it. The dark metal glistened in the moon light. Sarada inhaled sharply._

_“Is it really…?” She said unbelievingly._

_It was. The entire sword was chakra blade. Its steel was mixed with the special metal, which allowed the user to let their chakra flow into the blade. But that wasn’t everything. Fine engravings decorated the blade. Small silver lines which twitched across it, in the low light._

_“A chakra blade manufactured for you. The engravings are for the chakra flow. Infuse it with your lightning chakra.” Boruto invited her and took a step back._

_In a second, the sword flashed up brightly blue. The lightning hissed and twitched and lashed out. Quickly, Sarada reduced her chakra flow and the lightning was leaking the blade._

_“It feels so natural. No resistance at all. It’s so simple. Just so little chakra triggers so much…” She whispered, amazed by the weapon in her hand._

_“That’s the purpose.” Boruto said with a smile._

_“I’ve held chakra blades before and it’s easy to infuse chakra into them… but the sword.” She shook her hand. “_ You _’ve always wanted a weapon like that. I can’t take it. Use it yourself. I don’t even want to know how much it cost.” The lightning went out when she passed the sword._

_But Boruto didn’t take it. “Now try fire-chakra.”_

_Flames danced across the sword and spend warm light. Sarada looked up to him and he grinned._

_“I can’t use Katon… So you gotta keep it.” He said._

_She held the sword in one hand and boxed him with the other. “You idiot. One chakra-engraving wasn’t enough, was it?”_

_He laughed quietly and rubbed his chest were she hit him. “I’m glad you like it.”_

_She laughed too. “Like it? I love it.” She said and watched the flames encase the Katana. Then their eyes met and both of them stayed silent for a while. Only sharing their emotions through their eyes. Her gratitude. His worries. Her confidence. His understanding._

_“Thank you, Boruto. I can’t even replay it.” She whispered finally._

_“Just get back home safe.” He said._

_The flames died and she put the sword back into its sheath. Then she shouldered it and tightened the strap. She hugged him. Her warm body pressed against his. He breathed in her pleasant familiar scent. Boruto buried his face in her hair. They remained like that; enjoying the physical closeness of the other._

_After a while, Sarada loosened the embrace._

_“I appreciate it. Thank you for visiting and the sword. I make it up to you somehow. But now I gotta go.” She said and looked up to him._

_“Yeah I know. Can’t keep your team waiting.” He grinned. “We see each other, next month. And now show them!” He stroke through the air, defeating imaginary enemies._

_Quickly, she gathered the rest of her equipment and put on the falcon mask. The red ornaments of the mask were the only colour of her uniform. She went to the window and crouched on top of the windowsill. Once again she looked back to him and waved one last time._

_Then she disappeared._

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> So what do you think? Please comment and leave Kudos if you like.


	7. The shinobi ball - part I

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarada and Chouchou prepare themselves for the ball in the flat of the Uchihas. But then, an unexpected visitor arrives.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sorry, I’ve barely had time to write >.<  
> Please remember the warnings and tags…  
> Thanks for reading and I hope you enjoy :)

“Ugh.” Sarada blinked hard to clear her vision. Then she tried to adjust the contacts lenses with the help of the bathroom mirror and blinked again. Her eyes have always been sensitive and were trying to get rid of the foreign object. Also, when she activated her Sharingan with contact lenses; her vision gets often blurry and she couldn’t use her Kekkei Genkei properly. So she had dismissed the idea to replace her glasses with contacts a long time ago.

“I hate contacts and you know that. Why do you make me do this?” She muttered.

“Because…” Chouchou explained, as it was obvious. “I want that everybody see the brilliant make-up I’ll put on you. And no offense, but your glasses would ruin your outfit.”

Sarada just rolled her eyes and still felt the contact lenses. But she still smiled a little bit. The young Uchiha was actually relieved that her friend was helping her to prepare for the ball. She had barely any practice with make-up or hairstyles, because that wasn’t something important to her. So she sat down on the stool and waited for Chouchou to finish with her own make-up.

No matter how hard she tried; Sarada couldn’t shake off the uncomfortable feeling in her guts. “But I can’t use my Sharingan with them, it gives me a headache.” She complained.

Chouchou paused with her mascara and looked down to her. “Oh please, it’s not like you will need your death stares. We go there to celebrate and to have fun, remember? Stop being so tense and on guard all the time.” Then she went back to her make-up.

Sarada swallowed down her objections and tried to relax. Her friend was right; she didn’t need to be on guard. Everything was fine. She was safe.  She was back home. She breathed in deeply and exhaled slowly; trying to get rid of her anxiety. Meanwhile, Chouchou hummed a happy melody and fixed her red-brown hair. She didn’t notice Sarada’s discomfort.

 

After half an hour, Chouchou was finally satisfied with her own looks and turned towards Sarada. She got behind her and tousled her fresh-washed black hair.

“Sooo… Let’s get started.” Her amber eyes were sparkling. “Turn away from the mirror, Sarada. I want to surprise you.”

Sarada rolled her eyes again and turned her back on the mirror. Chouchou had way too much fun doing this. So, Sarada decided to turn the tables.

“Who is your date tonight?” She asked and Chouchou froze.

“Who says I have a date?! You don’t have date either. Why should I have a date?” Her friend rambled.

“Because… This evening is way more important to you, than it is to me.” Sarada explained with a cheeky smile.

The dark-skinned girl stayed silent and brushed Sarada’s hair. She pouted.

“Fine. I have a date.” She admitted.

“Then, who is it?”

“Promise you won’t laugh!” Chouchou growled.

Sarada raised a hand and gestured her to calm down. “I won’t laugh. Promise.”

Against her will, she got pretty curious.

“It’s Mitsuki.” Chouchou confessed after a pause.

Sarada didn’t expect that. Mitsuki? He and Chouchou got along well, but her weird pale team mate had only eyes for Boruto. And Mitsuki had very limited knowledge of reading emotions and expressing them.

“How did that happen?” The young Uchiha asked with a frown.

Chouchou seemed confused too. “What do you mean ‘how did that happen’? He asked me nicely. With flowers and chocolate and all that stuff. So I couldn’t say no.” She explained. Sarada noticed her friend blushed slightly and then she knew that Chouchou hoped for something more than just a friend-dancing-ball-thing.

But Sarada also remembered one of those afternoons in the library with Mitsuki. It was before her mission, almost half a year ago.

 

_In comfortable silence, she and Mitsuki shared a desk at the library. Sarada was reading through some historic literature of Konoha-gakure and her team mate chose a romantic teenager novel. He wanted to improve his social skills and he wanted to understand emotions more._

_After they flicked some pages, Mitsuki paused._

_“Yuna had a crush on Daiki..” He read out loud with a frown and looked up. “Sarada, what does this mean? Having a crush on someone. It sounds… painful”_

_Sarada smiled and adjusted her glasses, while she tried to phrase a fitting answer.  “No it’s not painful. Not always, at least. A crush, it’s… it’s when you really really like someone. You have a deep desire to be with that person and you think they are beautiful and really special. And you’re all giddy about it.”_

_Mitsuki frown and a small furrow appeared between his eyes brows. Sarada gave him time to process._

_“So it’s like… Loving someone?” He asked._

_Sarada shook her head gently. “Yes and no… Love is a stronger feeling than a crush. You can have a crush on a fictional character or a celebrity. You don’t have to really know them. But still you want to know them even more and you fantasies about romantic stuff with them. Cuddling, kissing and handholding..”_

_“But I can have a crush on someone I know already?” Mitsuki asked._

_Sarada nodded. “Yeah, of course. Let’s just say when you’re really attracted to someone, you have a crush.”_

_“Hm… weird. I thought love and attraction was about reproduction. As an instinct of self-preservation...” He muttered._

_“That’s maybe applicable for animals. But humans are a little bit more complex.” She said with an apologizing smile._

_Mitsuki stared out of the window. Sarada waited if he wanted to add something._

_When she was just about to continue with her book, he said something underneath his breath. She looked back up again._

_“I’m sorry, what did you say?” She asked._

_Then he turned back towards her. His golden eyes met hers; he seemed very serious and concerned._

_“I said… I think I have a crush on Boruto.” He repeated._

_Sarada shouldn’t be surprised, because she knew how obsessed Mitsuki was with Boruto. He was basically his shadow. But it still surprised her. With an open mouth and wide eyes she stared back at him._

_“What do I do, Sarada?” He tilted his head questioningly._

 

What game did Mitsuki play? Why did he ask Chouchou now? He shouldn’t be playing with someone else’s feelings. Sarada gritted her teeth. Her stomach was boiling with rage.

“But you do realize that Mitsuki is pretty limited with this whole socialize and emotion thing, don’t you?” She asked her friend, trying to calm herself down.

Chouchou pulled a little bit too hard on Sarada’s hair. “I know. I know. It’s not like I’m into him. Don’t you worry.”

But Sarada did worry anyway; she knew her friend better. She probably was already into Mitsuki, after he asked her out, in such a romantic way. Yet, Chouchou changed the subject and chatted about a new TV series.

 

After another hour, she was finally finished with Sarada’s hairstyle and make-up. Chouchou stepped back and observed her work once again. Then, she smiled widely.

“You can look now.” She confirmed.

Sarada stood up and turned towards the bathroom mirror. Her jaw dropped, when she saw herself. Chouchou had done a very good job. The make-up underlined her natural facial features perfectly. Dark eye shadow and eye liner made her eyes pop. Her eyes lashes seemed even longer and denser. A red lip stick coated her lips. Her black hair was loosely upswept and two strands of curled hair framed her face. Traditional accessories decorated her hairstyle.

She was speechless.

“I… It makes such a difference.” She stuttered.

Chouchou squeaked happily.

“Thanks. I love it.” Sarada smiled too. “I look like…”

“- A princess. And you are. The Uchiha princess.” Chouchou bursted out.

Sarada flinched a little bit; her smile vanished. _“You’re gorgeous.” His hands stroked her exposed skin. “My princess. My Uchiha princess.”_ She heard _his_ lascivious voice in the back of her head.

“Don’t call me that.” She growled. Chouchou tilted her head questioningly.

“What’s wrong with prin-“

“Please. Don’t call me- princess.” She whispered the last word.

“Okay. Okay. Jeez.” Chouchou appeased her. Even though she seemed confused and curios, at the same time.

“I’ll get into my Kimono now. I’ll be right back and help you with your outfit.” Sarada quickly said and left the bathroom, before Chouchou would ask any questions.

She hurried to her room and closed the door behind her. Her heart raced and she gasped for air.

Not now. She would only cry and sweat away the beautiful make-up.

Sarada focused on her breathing and tried to distract her mind. She thought about the upcoming evening and listed all the friends, who would be there. When she was done with the list in her head, she repeated it and switched the names. Her heart calmed down and she could breathe properly again.

She had been able to prevent the panic attack before it got started.

While she took off her t-shirt and pants, she was trying to ignore her scars. After that, Sarada went to her hang up Kimono. Her fingers ran along the soft, dark fabric. She paused at her embroidered clan symbol.

Suddenly, Sarada took a decision. She was the future of her clan. Many of her ancestors and relatives had been through worse. She had to – No – she will overcome this. And it will make her stronger in the end.

With a determined face she got into her outfit, as if she was preparing for a battle. After the Kimono, she put on the red Obi (belt) and straightened it at her waistline. Then, Sarada slipped on the Tabi (socks) and the Zōri (sandals).

After one quick glance in the wardrobe mirror, she decided that she was good to go. She wouldn’t think about her catastrophic mission, not today...  She would have fun with her friend and she would enjoy the festival.

Sarada left her room and knocked on the bathroom door.

“Chouchou? You ready?” she asked.

“One second!”

At the same time, the bell rang. Sarada frowned; she didn’t expect any more visitors.

“I think, it is Mitsuki. He wanted to pick me up. Quick! Open the door. I’ll be with you in a sec.” Chouchou shouted through the door. Sarada heard the excitement in her voice and she got angry again. Why didn’t she tell her earlier? Then she would’ve talked with Mitsuki in private. With a grim look she went to the entrance door and opened it for Mitsuki.

Her team mate hadn’t changed much throughout the years. He was still slim, very pale and a little bit taller than Sarada. Puberty hasn’t changed the fact, that he only had hair on his head.

Mitsuki stood in the door frame with a white flower in his hand. His normally tousled white hair was slicked back. He wore a light pastel blue Hakama, his associated pants were indigo blue. He looked good; traditional clothing had always suited him.

“Good evening, Sarada. Is Chouchou here?” He asked, after he observed Sarada’s outfit. His golden eyes searched the room behind her.

“Yeah she is still in the bathroom, getting into her traditional outfit. “ Sarada answered and crossed her arms.

Mitsuki got inside and smiled at her.

“You look very pretty. Chouchou did a great job. She is really amazing, isn’t she?”

“Okay. What do you think you’re doing?” She wanted to know, ignoring his compliment.

“What do you mean? You know I always liked Chouchou.” Mitsuki’s smile vanished.

Sarada got even angrier. Mitsuki didn’t understand what he was playing with. He didn’t know what Chouchou felt and he didn’t know about her hopes and dreams. But the young Uchiha knew her friend better. Chouchou probably planned a super romantic evening and hoped for another date or even a relationship. Also, she probably thought Mitsuki was really into her and it would hurt her to learn the truth.

Sarada pushed him roughly against the wall and got really close to his face. Mitsuki eyes widened.

“Listen up Mitsuki! It isn’t right to play with the feelings of somebody! Right now, Chouchou probably hopes that you two become a couple, but you’re into someone else. That is just wrong!” She whispered angrily, each word as sharp as a knife.

Mitsuki raised his hands in defence.

“Sarada, I don’t mean to cause any harm. I will do my very best to make Chouchou happy. And I will be completely honest with her.” He said calmly.

“When you’ve a crush on Boruto, you don’t ask the second best person to get over him.” She clenched her fist and her knuckles cracked.

Mitsuki looked down to her hands; he knew she could punch him through the wall. Through more than one wall honestly…

“When I told you… That was months ago. A lot has changed, while you were gone. I realised that Boruto will never like me back. At least not the way I liked him. He is into girls, and only into girls. He simply doesn’t see me that way…” He chose his words carefully. “And I’ve spent a lot of time with Chouchou. We went on two missions together. And I noticed once more that she has a really special personality. I just want to get to know her more.” He paused.

Sarada took a step back and avoided his gaze. She was still sceptical, but she overacted.

Mitsuki put a hand on her shoulder. “You’re so different since you’re back. If you ever want to talk...”

He left the rest of the sentence unspoken. Sarada sighed and thought about opening up. Nobody, except her and her torturers knew the whole truth. Maybe, Mitsuki couldn’t help, but he was a good listener.

She opened her mouth to say something, when she heard the bathroom door opened. Steps got closer and Chouchou entered the corridor.

“Hey I’m ready…” Chouchou said unsure. She looked at Mitsuki and saw the flower in his hands. Her eyes widened in surprise and she started to smile. “Mitsuki! You bought me a flower?”

Mitsuki turned towards Chouchou. He examined her gorgeous outfit and started smiled too.

“Yes. But it isn’t as beautiful as you.” He said.

Sarada suppressed the urge to roll her eyes. Mitsuki probably copied a book, but it made her friend happy, so she didn’t say anything.

 Chouchou went to Mitsuki with sparkling eyes and took the flower carefully. Then she smelled it and her smile grew bigger. “Thank you… But where do I-“

“May I?” He asked and took the flower back. He put it gently behind one ear and into her hair. Surprisingly, it fitted her hairstyle very well.

Both of them shared a very long look.

It made Sarada uncomfortable; she shouldn’t be here.

“Are we good to go?” She asked and broke the silence.

“Mhm.” Mitsuki nodded and offered Chouchou a hand.

She took it with another grin. “Okay. Let’s go!”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Do you like the Mitsuki/Chouchou paring? (hope you don’t mind that I’ve added it) Are you excited for the ball? (*muhahhahaha*)  
> Leave Kudos and comment if you like :)


	8. The shinobi ball part II

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Mitsuki, Chouchou and Sarada are arriving at the ball and meet old acquaintances and friends.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I was on vacations, so I didn’t write much and couldn’t update. Sorry >.<  
> Thank you for sticking by :) I try to update sooner.  
> I hope you enjoy :3  
> (as always not beta-read, please excuse any mistakes)

The sun started to set, when the small group left the apartment of the Uchiha family. Mitsuki and Chouchou took the lead, while holding hands and Sarada followed them and stayed close. They avoided the main streets, because the peace festival already took place since the afternoon. Countless booths with mini-games and food stalls turned the village into a giant fairground.

Even from the quit side road, Sarada could hear the noise of the crowd and she could see the colourful festive lighting. Everybody seemed to be at the festival; the rest of Konoha was very empty. More quiet and darker than usual, it made Sarada shiver. But Mitsuki and Chouchou didn’t notice; they just had eyes for each other and had their small whispered conversations. Both of them looked so happy and Sarada felt like the fifth wheel on a wagon. They wanted some time alone and she only disturbed them.

Finally, they arrived at the marketplace in front of the Hokage building, where the shinobi ball took place. A small crowd waited at the entrance for the security to let them in. Sarada, Mitsuki and Chouchou joined them.

When Sarada was about to get in, she noticed a familiar face. Kotaro Fuma, head of the Konoha Military Police Force, guided the security team and observed the crowd of people, who got in. He spotted Sarada in the crowd and raised his arm with a wide smile.

“Go in without me. I will join you in a second.” Sarada said to Mitsuki and Chouchou.

“You’re sure?” Mitsuki asked.

“You don’t get away that easy.” Chouchou said sceptical. “You’re not running home after I’ve put so much work-“

“Don’t worry. I won’t go home. I just wanna catch up with Captain Kotaro-san.” She interrupted her friend. Chouchou nodded but didn’t seem convinced.

“I’ve got an eye on you.”  She threatened.

Sarada rolled her eyes. She was making her way through the crowd and went over to Kotaro.

“Busy evening, Kotaro-san?” She assumed.

“Yes, it’s pretty crowded tonight. The fact that the Kazekage and a lot of people from Sunagakure join us this year doesn’t make it easier for me and my men.” He turned towards her and examined her outfit. “Sarada-san may I say that you’re looking beautiful tonight.”

“Well, thank you. For the compliment and your service…” She said with a light bow. “You and your men are doing a great job even though it’s not an easy one.”

“Thank you.” Kotaro said with a wide smile. But suddenly he seemed thoughtful and serious. “Tell me, Sarada-san… Have you ever thought of joining the police? I mean not just a handful of mission… truly becoming part of the police. You would be a great support…” He asked.

Sarada was surprised, she never really thought about it. Yes, she completed dozen missions successfully for the police. And yes, she had liked the work at the police station. But she always had been so focused on her training and becoming Hokage that she hadn’t thought about any different carrier.

“I’m- I’m honoured Kotaro-san, but honestly I’ve been pretty busy lately…” She stammered.

“I know… A lot of ANBU missions from what I’ve heard. “Kotaro said and scratched the back of his head.

“Yeah…” She answered toneless. Immediately, dark memories clouded her mind.

“What a shame… You were a pretty good complement for my team. And to be honest I’ve hoped you as an Uchiha… would take over the Konoha Military Police Force some day. When I’m older of course...” He laughed nervously.

His implication blew her gloomy thoughts away and her mouth opened in surprise. It was true since the beginning, the Uchiha always lead the police department. But she never thought about leading it herself.

“Actually, I’ve never thought about it.” She answered.

“You didn’t like it at the police department?” Kotaro asked disappointed.

“No. No. That’s not want I meant.” Sarada said quickly. “The work was very fulfilling. But I was so focused on my career as kunoichi. And I’ve hoped that I would become Hokage someday. So, I haven’t considered it.”

“Well, think about it then.” He said and winked playfully. It confused Sarada even more.

“Other shinobi could become head of police too...” It was the only thing she got out. Sarada wouldn’t feel comfortable with this title, just because she was an Uchiha.

“I just wanted to say that you have potential in the police forces. You always did a very good job. And whenever you’re tired from ANBU mission, you will be welcomed with open arms.”

She didn’t know what to say. When she didn’t answer, Kotaro just smiled friendly and patted her shoulder.

“Anyways, I hope you’ll have a great evening. Don’t miss out the fireworks!” He reminded her and got back to work.

“Thanks.” She answered.

Her mind was wandering; too many thoughts were spinning in her head. Should she give up her ANBU carrier and focus on something else? When she would work for the police… she would help a lot of people and she would do something good for the village. Right? Maybe she wasn’t meant to be an ANBU captain. The work at the police could help her anyway, on her way of becoming Hokage…

As Sarada passed by, she noticed the champagne reception and instantly grabbed a glass. It should ease her mind and help her relax. Quickly, she emptied it in one swig and took second glass. The waiter gave her a confused look, but he didn’t say anything.

She continued to wave her way through the crowd, looking for her friends.

“Saradaaaa! We’re here.” She heard Chouchou voice from behind and flinched. Her friend wasn’t ashamed of yelling around. Chouchou was barely ashamed of anything, to be honest.

She turned around and saw Mitsuki, Chouchou and… Shikadai. She gritted her teeth and her heart jumped nervously.

“This is not awkward at all…” she mumbled underneath her breath, while she went to her friends.

“Hey…” Sarada greeted Shikadai. He wore a pastel green Hakama and dark grey Kimono pants. His spiky hair was tied back a little bit more neatly than usual. His beard stubbles were barbered, so he had only a short chin beard left, similar to his father.

Mitsuki seemed curios and amused at the same time. Chouchou stayed silent and gestured her to continue. 

 “You’re looking good today.” She added quickly.

He avoided her gaze and cleared his throat. “So, you came any way. Even though you told me, you wouldn’t…”

Sarada shifted uncomfortably. “Well… Boruto annoyed me. And you know him; he wouldn’t stop until I said yes. So I am here. Against my will, basically.”

Shikadai frowned for a while, but then he started to laugh. “Okay… I leave you off the hook. Boruto can be really reaaaly annoying.”

Mitsuki chuckled and Chouchou giggled. Sarada just forced a smile.

Shikadai paused and looked at the young Uchiha.

“Even though, you don’t want to be here and you weren’t well prepared… You look beautiful.” He blushed and didn’t meet her eyes.

“Thank you Shikadai.”

“Yeah well, she owes me. “ Chouchou chimed in.

Sarada rolled her eyes and tried to change the subject. “Did your mother leave you alone? About the ball and the pictures…?”She asked friendly.

“Not really. She ‘arranged’ something for me. You remember Yodo? From Suna?”

“Our first Chunin-exams…” Sarada suggested. She remembered that blonde girl with the sharp ears.

“Exactly. She arrived with Uncle Gaara and Shinki… so I’m with her today.” He explained.

“Good luck. She was pretty taciturn, when I remember correctly.” She said.

“Yes, she is… But I should look for her now or she kills me” He said with a nervous laughter and waved goodbye. “See ya.”

When Shikdai was gone, Sarada exhaled loudly and took a sip of her champagne. Chouchou laughed at her. Even Mitsuki grinned gleefully.

“I think you did very well, Sarada.” He said. “Don’t worry, Shikadai forgave you.”

She just rubbed her temple and tried to hold back a sarcastic comment. Mitsuki was definitely not the most sensitive person. He didn’t realise, how weird the situation was.

“I will definitely need stronger drink.” Sarada whispered to herself and emptied her second champagne glass.

“Aww… Poor Sarada. Now you have to face all the boys you’ve rejected.” Chouchou said with faked compassion and hugged her playfully.

“That isn’t funny Chouchou…” Sarada muttered and stiffened.

“A few drinks more and it will be funny for you too.”  Chouchou promised and patted her shoulder.

Sarada shook of her hand.

“I will get myself another drink now. You want something too?” She asked Chouchou and Mitsuki. Both shook their head.

“My body can’t tolerate much alcohol.” Mitsuki said with a grin.

“Later maybe. I would like to eat first.” Chouchou explained.

“Okay. See you later.” Sarada said and went off looking for a bar.

Soon she found one, but it was much crowed so she had to wait until she could order her drink.

“Hey you!” Someone called from behind.

Sarada turned around and saw Wasabi and Namida approach. Wasabi’s brown and spiky hair was tamed into a short braid. She wore a beautiful ornamented green Kimono which matched her eyes. Namida was dressed even more magnificent. Her hair was pinned up into a traditional hair style and the orange-patterned fabric of her Kimono seemed very expensive.

“Sarada! Long time no see. You’re looking beautiful today. How are you?” Wasabi asked.

“I’m fine.” She answered quickly. She wanted to divert from herself. “And how were you two doing? You look great.” Sarada asked with a significant look in her eyes. She knew that both girls were secretly together. Only their friends of the younger generation knew about the couple, because Namida’s family were pretty strict and traditional. So they had to keep their relationship as a secret.

Namida looked around and her smile vanished, when she realised that nobody was watching them.

“Everything is all right, I guess.” Namida shrugged with her shoulders.

“That isn’t true.” Wasabi said grimly. “Namida’s parents want to arrange a marriage for her.” A small growl escaped her lips.

“Psst, Sabi. Not now. Not here.” Namida whispered angrily but held Wasabi’s hand tightly to calm her girlfriend down.

“I’m sorry to hear about that.” The young Uchiha said. She was unsure how she could help her friends. She knew both of them loved each other deeply; it wasn’t fair that they had these obstacles.

“They told me about their plans, two days ago. So, it’s pretty fresh.” Namida tried to explain Wasabi’s bad mood.

“I’m pretty sure, you two figure something out.” Sarada started, but stopped when she saw their hopeless faces.

“You still haven’t told them, have you?” She asked.

“Duh. Of course not. You don’t know how her parents are.” Wasabi muttered.

“I never saw such a pure, lovely and loyal relationship like yours… When they know, maybe they need some time, but eventually they’ll accept it.” Sarada tried to cheer them up.

“Thank you for your nice words, but that’s hard to believe.” Namida said with tears in the corner of her eyes. Wasabi squeezed Namida’s shoulder gently, trying to comfort her.

“I’m sorry. I didn’t want to ruin your mood.” Sarada apologized.

“It isn’t your fault, really.” Namida said and carefully wiped away her tears without ruining her make-up.

Sarada noticed a gap at the bar. “I’ll buy you a drink, what do you want?”

“Red wine please.” Wasabi said and gestured that Namida would take some wine too. Then she hugged her girlfriend, who was still pretty emotional.

Sarada nodded and raised her hand for the barkeeper.

“Two glasses of red wine and some sake please.” She ordered. The barkeeper brought the ordered alcohol quickly.

The young Uchiha turned around and handed the wine over. Then she took the sake bottle and the drinking cup for herself.

“Thank you, Sarada.” Namida said with a small smile.

“Yeah, thanks.” Wasabi added.

“No problem. A toast to both of you! Kanpai!” The young Uchiha raised her cup.

“Kanpai!” Both of them added and they clinked glasses with a smile and took a sip. Sarada thought about another subject to distract them.

“There you are!” Sarada almost spilled her drink, when she heard Sumire’s voice behind her. She turned around and realised the young purple-haired woman stood right in front of her.

“Sumire!” The couple greeted their ex-team mate with a warm hug. With a wide smile Sumire hugged them back. She just continued her hugging-tour and wrapped her arms around Sarada too. It made her stiffen but she didn’t protest.

“Thank you by the way, for your help with Boruto.” Sumire whispered quickly into her ear during the hug.

Before Sarada could answer, Sumire released the embrace and turned towards Namida and Wasabi. She made them compliments and they chatted cheerfully together. The young Uchiha just stood next to them and listened.

Suddenly, Boruto’s voice came from behind. “Oy, Sarada. Good that you’re here.”

Sarada jumped and turned around with an angry look on her face. She almost let go of her sake.

“Fuck.” She swore. “What’s wrong with you all, sneaking up on me from behind-“

She paused when his scent hit her. It was his personal pleasant smell mixed with fragrance.

He wore a black Hakama with a white collar and his sleeves were embroidered with white yarn. The style of the embroidery was manly and warrior-like. Additionally, his Hakama was slightly opened, so the muscles of his chest were shown. His pink belt formed a strong contrast with the rest of his traditional outfit. Boruto’s blond hair was weirdly tidy and slicked back. It didn’t suit him at all. When she saw the impudent grin on his face, it interrupted her thoughts. Sarada smiled back and boxed him lightly against his chest.

“You know I’m jumpy lately.” She accused him.

“I’m truly sorry. I haven’t thought about that.” His grin disappeared and he got a step closer. Suddenly, he seemed very worried. “Are you okay? How do you feel today?”

She didn’t want to talk about how she felt, so she quickly changed the subject. “What’s up with your hair?” She asked slightly amused.

“My mom…”Boruto explained and looked unhappy.

“Well, with this hairstyle you look like the idiot that you truly are.” She giggled and took a sip of her sake.

“Urgh... I don’t like it either.” He said and fumbled around with his hair.

“Wait. You only make it worse.  Let me help.” Sarada offered and reached up to his head. She fiddled around for a while, plucked some strands out and tousled his blonde hair.

“You look really beautiful tonight by the way.” Boruto said. Sarada felt that his blue eyes were examining her, but she tried to concentrate on his hairstyle so she didn’t meet his gaze.

“Thanks. Chouchou did her very best.” She felt a smile appear on her face.

Only when Sumire cleared her throat, Sarada realised how close she and Boruto stood. Sumire didn’t seem amused and glared at her for a second. Quickly, she took a step back and her smile vanished.

“Eh… His hair…” She tried to explain.

“Yeah. I asked her to. So thanks Sarada.” Boruto quickly added and ran with his fingers through his hair once again.

“Oh… I kind of liked it.” Sumire said disappointed.

All three of them didn’t know what to say.

Luckily, the uncomfortable silence was broken by Naruto’s voice which echoed through the many microphones on the festival terrain.  

He held a short speech, welcomed the guests from Sunagakure and wished every family and villager a great festival. Finally, he declared the shinobi ball as inaugurated.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think of Kotaro-san and his offer? What do you think of Wasabi and Namida? You liked that tension between Sarada and Boruto? *hehehehe* >:3  
> What will happen next??  
> Please comment your thoughts down below :3  
> Leave Kudos if you like :)  
> I hope you enjoyed and thanks for reading


	9. The Shinobi Ball - part III

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> The shinobi ball finally starts. Sarada tries her best to have a good time. But the evening takes an unexpected turn.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey yo, I’m back with an extra-long chapter :3  
> Again, it’s not beta-read and English isn’t my native language, so please excuse any mistakes or weird sentences. I’m trying my very best here. (Still you can comment my serious mistakes, lol)  
> I hope you enjoy :)

When the speech was over, the whole crowd started moving towards the buffet tables. Sarada and the others waited patiently, so they wouldn’t lose each other in the crowd. There would still be enough tables left, after the first rush was over.

Sarada felt Sumire’s eyes were examining her outfit. When she looked over to the purple-haired kunoichi, she stopped staring and quickly started a conversation with Namida. 

Sarada frowned and eyed her as well. Obliviously, Sumire had put a lot of work into her outfit. She wore a lilac coloured backless dress, which still had the cut of a Kimono. So it was modern and traditional at the same time. Her make-up was on point and her long hair was put up loosely. Unlike Sarada, she probably did it all by herself, over hours.

Sumire really wanted to catch Boruto’s eye. Sarada didn’t know why, but deep down it bothered her. Why did Sumire need to dress up like that to get his attention? She could simply confront him with her feelings for him.

Boruto became impatient. “Do we all grab us a table or what?” He said.

Sarada looked up to him and just shrugged.

“It doesn’t seem to get better.” Wasabi said and looked around. “It’s the event of the year after all.”

“Okay. Let’s go then.” Sumire agreed.

Before she could protest, Boruto took Sarada’s hand and took the lead, making his way through the crowd. Sumire, Wasabi and Namida quickly followed. Sarada felt Sumire’s glare in her back.

It wasn’t her fault; Boruto wasn’t giving her any attention! The Uchiha didn’t ask him to take her hand. But before she could do or say anything, she heard a familiar voice.

“BORUTOOO! SARADA! Get over here! We have a giant table! It’ll be enough for us all.” Chouchou shouted from a table to their left.

Boruto laughed and headed for her and Mitsuki, who sat next to her with a grin on his face.

“I could’ve figured that you would be the first at the buffet Chouchou.” Boruto said when they finally got there.

“What’s that supposed to mean, pineapple-head?” The dark-skinned girl growled.

“Nothin’. Nothing. It’s good to see you.” Boruto said and laughed nervously. Quickly, he turned towards Mitsuki. “Yo, Mitsuki!”

“Boruto. Nice outfit, you got there.” The pale young man answered and stared a little bit too long at Boruto’s chest, which was visible because of his neckline. Sarada dart a glance at him. When Mituki noticed her, he just smiled apologizing.

“Thanks, man.” Boruto said incidentally. As always, he hadn’t notice anything and sat down at the table.

He patted at the chair next to him and looked up to Sarada. But she got quickly around the table and sat next to Chouchou as if she hadn’t seen his gesture. Boruto just shrugged, when Sumire sat down next to him. Wasabi and Namida joined her.

Sumire seemed disappointed and Sarada could image why. There were plenty of tables for two, for a more private and romantic evening. But Boruto hadn’t even thought about that. So, Sumire turned towards her ex -team-mates and talked with them.

“Have you met someone else yet?” He asked Mitsuki and Chouchou, excited to meet his old friends he hadn’t seen in a while.

“We met Shikadai earlier, haven’t we Sarada?” Chouchou said, teasing her with an elbow.

“Yeah. But he is with this Suna-girl, so I don’t know if they’ll join us.” Sarada said and ignored the tease.  When she wanted to get through this evening, she would have to face many people, she rejected before.

“But Shikadai has to join us!” Boruto protested. “He is always so busy.”

“Well maybe he wants to have a nice date-night like some of us at this table.” Sarada contoured and was looking over to Sumire and back to Boruto, clearly giving him a hint.

Boruto just looked at her, confused. “I thought you didn’t want a date?”

Sarada almost screamed at him in rage. But then she decided she didn’t care. “It’s not about _me_ , you idiot. It’s about… you know what. Whatever.”

He seemed even more confused, but stayed silent.

Soon, Iwabee, Denki and Metal Lee joined them and sat down at their table. None of them got a date for the ball. Sarada shifted in discomfort. Iwabee and Metal Lee both had asked her. Iwabee was pretty laid back and simply accepted her rejection. But Metal Lee almost had and heart attack when he stammered his ‘Do-you-want-to-go-to-the-ball-with-me’ and fainted when she said no.

Now they’re here and looking at her, irritated that she even showed up.

“Boruto annoyed me.” She tried to explain.  “I wouldn’t be here, if I had a choice.”

“Hey it’s not like I dragged you here.” Boruto defended himself.

“Anyways. I’ll be right back.” Sarada said and stood up. She needed another drink.

 

When she got back – with two huge sake bottles to share – she saw that Shikadai, Yodo, Araya and Shinki also joined them. Quickly, she took a sip out of the bottle, before she sat back down next to Chouchou.

The team from Suna were examining her. Yodo looked gorgeous in her dark red Kimono. Shinki looked…. odd without his face paint and his iron sand, but in a good way. Araya hadn’t changed much, at least Sarada couldn’t tell, because he still wore his mask.

Unsure she raised one bottle.

“Yodo, Araya, Shinki, long times no see. You want a drink?” She offered. She didn’t know how to break the ice in any different way.

After an uncomfortable long pause, Shikadai rescued her. “I’ll take one.” He said and held up his cup.

“Me too.” Boruto joined him.

Chouchou also pushed her cup towards her.

“Why not.” Yodo shrugged and also gave her cup.

“Not without me!” Iwabee said.

So Sarada filled up all their cups and gave them back, then she filled her own.

“To the peace!” Boruto yelled his toast.

The others joined in. “To the peace.”

“To the peace.” Sarada muttered and took a deep sip.

_“Peace? Peace?! Your peace is built on a lot of blood that you even don’t know about.”_ _His_ voice echoed through her head. Instantly, her whole body was really tense and her heart started to race. No fucking way, she would break down now.

Quickly, she emptied her cup and filled it up again. She tried to focus on the conversations at the table to distract herself.

“Wait a minute, where is Inojin actually? He said he would come. Has anyone seen him?” Boruto asked, after a while.

Chouchou laughed way too loud. Shikadai also grinned cheeky.

“What? What you’re laughing at?” Boruto asked Chouchou annoyed.

“He had changed his plan. He won’t be with us, Boruto.” Shikadai said and giggled.

“What does that supposed to mean?” Boruto looked back and forth from Chouchou to Shikadai.

When he spotted a small smile on Sarada’s face, it caught his attention.

“Common, Sarada. You know something. Tell me.” Boruto begged.

“I won’t tell you anything.” Sarada said and held her hands up in defence.

“Let’s just say, he has a better time with someone else, somewhere else.” Chouchou said.

After a few seconds, Boruto seemed to realise. “Hima…” He whispered.

“Woah. Since when, are you such a mastermind, Boruto?” Shikadai asked sarcastically.

“When he touches my sister… I swear – I will break every precious artist finger-“ Boruto growled and stood.

“Boruto! Calm down. It’s not like he does anything against Himawari’s will.” Sarada interrupted him.

“But she is my little sister and she-“

“And she is old enough to make her own decisions. Deal with it.” She completed his sentence.

He wanted to complain even more but Sarada didn’t let him.

“Now, sit back down and stop being so annoying.” She ordered.

He obeyed, but pouted for a little while.

 

 

After everyone had enough to eat and a few drinks, they heard the live band started to play their music.

“Let’s go and check out the opening dance!” Boruto proposed.

All of them got up and went to the dance floor in front of the Hokage Administration building, where the band also played their music.

A team of professional dancers put on a show. Even Sarada was impressed by their agility, elegance and their colourful costumes. With dramatic music, they re-enacted some events of the Forth Shinobi World War with graceful movements.

When it was over the crowd cheered loudly. They even got louder, when Naruto went onto the stage. He waved and smiled widely until the crowd calmed down. He cleared his throat and spoke into a microphone so everybody could hear him.

“What an awesome performance. Thank you.” He made a pause for the applause.

“But we all have to remember the past. We never should take our peace and wealth for as granted. It is just possible because of you all, my fellow shinobi and kunoichi.” Another pause and even louder applause.

“Thank you. I’m proud to be your Hokage.” He finished and the band began to play a classical piece of music.

A lot of couples got on the dance floor and started to dance. Sarada spotted her parents, Naruto and Hinata, Shikamaru and Termari, Sai and Ino. Mitsuki and Chouchou went too. Even Sumire dragged Boruto on the dance floor. Sarada decided to go back to their table. She wasn’t in the mood for dancing anyways.

She sat down and emptied her drinking cup. She was the only one at the table.

It wasn’t long until random shinobi started to approach her, asking for a dance. But she rejected every one of them. Sarada really didn’t want to dance. Her mind was wandering around in dark memories, which she couldn’t shake off.

“Sarada.” Her father’s voice brought her back to reality.

“Oh. Sorry. Hey, Papa and Mama.” She said and forced a smile. “You both look great tonight and I saw you on the dance floor.”

They did look great. Sasuke wore a dark-blue Hakama with white borders. She knew he had the clan symbol on his back. Sakura wore a pastel pink Kimono with a cherry blossom branch as design. It suited her perfectly and matched her hair, which was pinned up.

“Let me look at you.” Her mother begged, so Sarada stood up and went over to them.

“Ohh, you’re sooo beautiful tonight, Sweetie. I mean you’re always pretty, but you know what I mean.“ Sakura gave her a kiss on the cheek.

“Thanks Mama.” She smiled shyly.

“Well, I leave you two alone for a while.” Sakura suddenly said and went away.

Confused, Sarada watched her go. Then, she looked up to her father.

“What was that about..?” She asked.

“I wanted to talk to you.” Sasuke simply answered.

“Oh. Okay, go on.” Sarada said and waited.

Her father seemed unsure where to begin. He hesitated and sighed.

“Okay. Why aren’t you dancing with the others?” He asked.

“I’m not in the mood.” That was her concise answer.

“I know that you’re not in the mood and I can image why. But you-“ He started.

He wanted to speak about her mission. And she was definitely not in the mood for that either.

“Besides, there all those boys I rejected, because I didn’t want to go to the ball at all. And now it’s just weird and I would send wrong signals when I dance with them. And when I would dance with random strangers…  That would just be rude towards them. So, to avoid all that, I don’t dance.” She explained.

Sasuke didn’t fall for her other reasons.

“I know you’re not in the mood, because you don’t think you deserve to be happy. Because you think it was your fault-“

“It _was_ my fault, Papa!” She hissed angrily.

“But some things happen and you are already here, so why don’t you allow yourself to have fun… It won’t bring the Chunin back if you punish yourself.” He said and put his hand on her shoulder. She tried to hold back her tears, but he didn’t stop.

“Be grateful, for the possibility to do better.”

She stayed silent and didn’t meet his gaze.

“I am grateful for a lot of things. I’m grateful every day, for the end of the war, so I could have my wonderful wife and our incredible daughter. That’s why I celebrate, even though I’m not in the mood either. My journey was pretty hard the last couple of weeks. And then I heard that my daughter almost died, while I was gone. That was pretty scary. Still, I’m grateful. ” He admitted.

Sarada looked up to him and saw how worried he was, how tired he was.

“Okay. I’ll try to be grateful.” Sarada said with a shaking voice.

“Will you do me a favour then?” He asked with a small smile.

“Sure.”

“Will you give me a father-daughter dance?” His smile grew.

“Are you serious?!” She asked. “All this talking about being grateful - Just because you wanted to dance with me?!”

“Maybe.” He joked.

She sighed annoyed. “Fine.”

Both of them headed for the dance floor and joined the others. Sarada took her father’s hand and placed her other hand on his shoulder. They began to move to the music.

“You know, that’s a problem I also had.” Sasuke suddenly said.

“What do you mean?” Sarada asked confused.

“It’s a common Uchiha problem, actually. That you always have a bunch of admirers.” He clarified.

 “Hard to image that you were a heartthrob, Papa.”

“Wha-“ He lost the tact for one second.

“I’m sorry, but most of the times, you act really weird.” Sarada said and laughed a little bit.

“I was a real heartbreaker, go asked your Mom.” He said, clearly hurt in his pride.

“I will. I will.” She reassured him.

They danced for a while, without a word.

“Thanks, Papa.” The young Uchiha finally said.

“You’re welcome, my sweet little peanut.”

 

After they danced through a few songs, Sarada went back to the table and Sasuke was looking for Sakura again.

“There you are Sarada.” Chouchou said when she sat down next to her.

“Yeah, my Dad wanted some quality father-daughter time.” She explained. Then she realised Mitsuki wasn’t sitting on the other side from Chouchou.

“Where is he?” Sarada asked and gestured to Mitsuki’s seat.

“Oh he is grabbing some dessert for me.” Chouchou said with a smile.

“So, your date goes well?” Sarada assumed.

“What can I say? He is a very good listener, I have the feeling he really cares what I have to say, even when talk about the differences of pudding. And he is very handsome.” Chouchou said with sparkling eyes.

“That’s wonderful Chouchou. But don’t have to high expectations.” Sarada took another sip of her sake.

“Hey. That’s rude.” Her friend muttered.

“I’m just saying that Mitsuki isn’t normal – you know… with emotions. He is still learning and he still doesn’t get everything.” Sarada tried to explain.

“I know that. I’m not blind. Don’t worry, I’ll teach him. IF he wants to have more dates with me, it’s up to him. I won’t force him or use him, just because he is different.” Chouchou stated.

“I didn’t want to be mean or anything. I’m just worried… about both of you.” Sarada said.

“Noted.” Chouchou said and got up. “I will look for him. He’s gone for a while now.”

After Chouchou was gone, Sarada was all alone at the table again.  She took another drink. Luckily, someone had brought new bottles of sake, while she had been dancing with her father.

Suddenly, someone tapped her shoulder.

“Do you want to dance?” Boruto asked sarcastically charming and reached his hand out.

“You serious?” Sarada asked and raised an eyebrow.

“Aw common, how many more drinks you need to relax? What do you drink? I’ll get another one.” He asked.

“How about you dance with Sumire again?” Sarada suggested.

“We already danced.” He said irritated.

“She is your date; she wants to spend time with you. Alone.” She underlined the last word.

“No, it’s not like that. She is my date, but not my _date_ date.” He opposed.

“No I think it is. She asked me for advice you idiot.” Sarada said.

“Really?” He seemed surprised.

“Yeah, really.”

“Ooof.” He said and sat down next to her. “What do I do now?”

“Like I said. Dance with her, talk to her, listen for once.” Sarada recommended.

“But I don’t even know, if I like her that way…” Boruto muttered. This somehow made Sarada’s heart jump.

“She is a beautiful, intelligent and talented kunoichi… What else could you wish for?” She asked and tried to do her job as friend. Sumire asked for her help, at least.

But Boruto just looked at her in silence. Suddenly, he jumped up.

“You hear this?” Boruto asked.

“What?” Sarada asked and listened carefully for screams, fighting sounds or anything suspicious. She was very tense.

“The song.” Boruto said with a wide smile.

“Oh.” She said and tried to relax. Because the Hyuga Clan and the Uchiha clan (before their destruction) were pretty traditional, both of their moms insisted that Boruto and Sarada had to know the formal standard dances. So they had to learn it and they had their dancing lessons together. This song was one of the most played songs, during their lessons.

 “Now we have to dance. Common.” Boruto requested.

“Fine. For the good old dancing lessons.” Sarada said and got up.

Happy, Bourto took her hand and dragged her to the dance floor. Then, he grabbed her by her waist and pulled her a little bit closer. Instantly, they synced their steps and moved effortless to the tact of the music. It reminded Sarada of the good old days, which had been easier and worriless, when they had their lessons.

 “Do you remember I always had to take the lead at the beginning of our lessons?” Sarada teased him. Boruto had been hopelessly overstrained with new dancing moves.

“Oh shut up!” Boruto said and grabbed her hand a little bit harder.

“Why? Just because nobody should know that you’ve been led by me? That’s nothing new.” Sarada laughed about the look on his face. “And somehow, even though I led, you still managed to step on my feet all the time.”

“Well, now _I_ am leading.” He said and underlined it by pulling her closer and tightening his grip.

Sarada swallowed. Their faces were way to close.

“And I got better, didn’t I?” Boruto whispered directly into her ear. She could feel his warm breath stroke the skin of her exposed neck. It gave her chills.

“Yeah. You really became better.” She said, suddenly breathless. It was the alcohol, nothing else. She had a lot of drinks.

Then the song ended and Sarada stopped to dance. But Boruto had other plans and didn’t let go.

“Common, a few more songs. Relax and have some fun. You’ve earned it.” He asked.

She raised an eyebrow. “What about Sumire?”

“She is talking to her colleagues of the scientific ninja weapon team; she won’t even notice that I’m gone.”

“Still…” Sarada protested.

“Please? For me?” He begged. His very blue eyes met her onyx ones.

After a moment she broke the eye contact.

“Fine, no need for your puppy eyes.” She rolled her eyes.

Both of them started moving to the music again but this time they stayed silent. After two song, the speed of the music changed, it got slower and Sarada realised that is was a very romantic song. Everyone around them shuffled closer and moved softly back and forth.

 Also Boruto put both of his hands on her lower back, so she followed and wrapped her arms around his neck. He looked into her eyes again, but said nothing. Sarada was overwhelmed by his pleasant and familiar scent. She could feel his body heat through their fabric.

 “This isn’t a real formal dance anymore.” She clarified, while she maintained eye contact.

“You got me there.” Boruto answered without flinching.

“Why..?” She left the rest unspoken.

“Do you want me to stop?” He asked.

She looked away. “I need another drink. And this is the last dance you will get today.”

Boruto chuckled. “The night is still young. We will see.”

When Sarada didn’t responded, he stayed silent for the rest of the song.

 

As soon as the song was over, Sarada quickly released the embrace and went for the table without waiting for Boruto. She felt the heat on her face and desperately needed some fresh air. It was the alcohol, she said to herself. She saw that most of their friends returned to their seats, even Sumire was back and looked up to her.

At least, she hadn’t seen them dance, Sarada thought.

She grabbed her drink cup and emptied it. Boruto also arrived and went to her.

“Everything alright?” He asked with a worried look on his face.

“I’m fine.” She answered concise and filled her cup again.

Boruto just frowned and wanted to reply something, but Mitsuki got between them. He put his hands on their shoulders.

“You’re a good dancing couple, completely in accordance with each other, you know that?” He smiled widely. And Sumire dart a glare at Sarada again. Boruto didn’t notice; he just looked at Sarada questioningly.

“Yeah. We’ve had dancing lessons together, when we were younger.” The Uchiha answered and drank from her cup. “Because our parents forced us.” She quickly added.

“Ah. I see. I didn’t know that.” Mitsuki said.

“Boruto thought was embarrassing.” Sarada shook off Mitsuki’s hand.

“I’ll get a new bottle.” She said and went away.

But when she was on her way to the bar, she saw Namida and Wasabi standing offside of the other people. Namida’s hair was wildly dishevelled and she was crying hard. Wasabi seemed very upset but tried to calm her girlfriend down. Sarada quickly went over.

“What’s wrong? What happened?” She asked.

“My hair accessory –“ Namida sobbed.

“Some dumb thief pulled it out of her hair and ran off before I could react.” Wasabi growled.

“It’s a very valuable and old heirloom.”  Namida was panicking.

“I wanted to go after him, but I didn’t want to let her alone like that.”  Wasabi explained.

“I will get it back.” Sarada said. “Which direction did he go?”

Wasabi showed in one direction at a side street and hugged Namida tightly.

Immediately, Sarada started running even though she could feel the alcohol. At the end of the alley she saw a figure taking the left. She became faster and took the same turn. She activated her Sharigan to foresee the movements of the thief, but as soon as she tried to focus on him her vision became blurry and a sharp pain stabbed her temples.  Sarada almost tripped over and deactivated it again.

“Fucking contact lenses.” She muttered. But she hadn’t the time to remove them.

When she got closer, the thief heard her from behind and changed his directions. She hunted him through ramified, dark and narrow streets but he was quick and not stupid.

“Hey! You better stop before I get angry or I will have to hurt you.” She yelled.

The thief looked over his shoulder and only became faster.

Suddenly, he took another side way and when Sarada got around the corner he was gone. It was a dead end. Sarada stopped and panted. Did he climb over the wall? It was way too high to surmount it that quickly.

Out of nowhere, she heard a metallic noise from behind. But with her alcohol level and without her Sharigan, she was too slow to get out of the way.

Three kunai bored their way into her right shoulder blade. Quickly, she turned around and jumped back. With the wall in her back, he wouldn’t be able to surprise her. Instinctively, her Sharigan activated themselves again. Through her blurred vision she could see _two_ shadows approach. The thief had been hiding behind a rubbish container. And his accomplice waited in the opposite alleyway. He was the one that caught her by surprise.   

Her hand reached up to her shoulder blade. She felt her warm blood on her fingers and retracted her hand when the stinging pain got worse. For a second, she looked down on her bloody hand.  _Blood. It was so much blood. How could it be so much?_

“Is that all you got?” The accomplice asked and laughed.

“Damn. What do we do now?” The thief asked his partner.

“We destroy the evidence.” He answered and Sarada saw his smile.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I know I’m mean to end this chapter here. *muahahaha*  
> Soo, what do you think? I put a lot of effort in this one, I hope you can see it :D  
> Please comment your thoughts down below and leave kudos if you liked it.  
> Hopefully, until next time >:D


	10. In the alleys

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarada has to face the thieves and her past. Boruto is restless and goes after her.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I’m back. >:)  
> This is a pretty dark and triggering chapter, so please mind the warnings.  
> And please read the note at the end of the chapter and write your opinion in the comments.
> 
> Warning: blood, violence, torture, death

Sarada tried to stay focused and saw through her blurry vision that the thug pulled out another kunai. The pain was throbbing in her shoulder, where the three kunai hit her. It was distracting, just like her handicapped vision, her alcohol level and the stinging headache – caused by the contact lenses in combination with her sharingan. She stayed light on her feet and waited for the enemy to attack.

When he threw the kunai, she dodged successfully and pushed herself forward for a quick counter-attack. But as soon as the kunai hit the wall, it began to hiss and she realised that she had missed the paper bomb which was attached to the kunai. Before she could jump out of the way, the explosion blew up and threw her on the ground.

Unfortunately, Sarada hit her head hard. Her ears were ringing because of the blast. She tried to get up and stared down at her hand, which was covered in her own blood. _So much blood._ The metallic smell made her sick and she could taste it on her tongue. Her arms started to tremble and suddenly everything went black.

 

_“Wake-y wake-y Uchiha princess.” A female voice said sarcastically. Rough hands rattled the chains, which were attached to Sarada’s shackles. They were fixed to the ceiling of the bunker and kept Sarada in an upright position. She could barely touch the ground._

_Sarada slowly opened her eyes and saw Ruri, her female prison guard and torturer, who loved sharp knives and playing games. She was a grown woman, maybe thirty; her eyes were bilious green and her hair was light blonde, almost white. And she was in a good mood._

_When Ruri was in a good mood, it only meant trouble. Even though Sarada’s wounds were healed after her last session and she had a few hours of sleep, she still was endlessly tired and her whole body ached. Her hands were numb again, because she was chained up for too long. Sarada closed her eyes again and hoped she could escape all this._

_“Hey!” Ruri said sharply and punched her stomach hard. “You’ve slept enough. I’ve some important news for you, so listen up!” Sarada writhed in pain but didn’t make a noise; she wouldn’t give her this satisfaction._

_Sarada looked up and made eye contact, so her torturer could see that she was listening. Today, the Uchiha wasn’t in the mood to fight back the little things. She was too tired._

_“Since you and your team mates are here, we have made a lot of process, haven’t we?” Ruri asked._

_Sarada bit her bottom lip._

_“I said: We have made a lot of process, haven’t we?!” The question was now a threat._

_The raven-haired kunoichi just nodded silently. She knew she would only get more punches, if she made Ruri angry._

_“We tested our product extensively and improved the formula, so your body cannot get rid of it that easily. We learnt a lot about the dosage and that it isn’t conditional on the body weight. It depends on the amount of chakra you all possess. AND we know it is still highly effective, no matter what physical pain the subject has. No matter how much the subjects want to survive. No matter how much the subjects want to fight back.” Ruri laughed; satisfied with the situation._

_With ‘our’ product, her prison guard meant the poison which was flowing through Sarada’s veins right now. It was a strong sedative mixed with something Sarada didn’t knew. It suppressed her chakra so effectively, that she couldn’t forge it at all. She couldn’t even sense her own chakra anymore, as if there was nothing left. The poison also made her tired and limp. It left her vulnerable and weak, without any chance to fight back or to defend herself in any way._

_“But! We only tested the limit of our toxin, while you were in incredible physical pain. It’s commonly known that shinobi can have unexpected chakra-boosts because of danger or simple survival instinct. Yet, it’s documented that these boosts can also be caused by emotional pain.” Ruri explained._

_Sarada shifted uncomfortably, her chains rattled. A weird feeling spread in her guts._

_“What do you mean?” The Uchiha croaked. Her voice broke, because her throat was too dry._

_“Strong emotions are often the key to great power. We have to test if our toxin can counteract. And since you’re an Uchiha… And we can’t get rid of you, because you could be useful… blah, blah, blah. We have to sacrifice someone else.”_

_Sarada was suspecting the worst but tried to remain calm. “You’re bluffing- Your boss would never allow it. ‘These subjects are not easy to get, so handle them with care’” She tried to remind the other woman._

_Ruri ignored her comment and smirked. “I have a present for you.”_

_She went over to the operation-curtain on the other side of the room and pulled it away, so Sarada could see what was behind. It was Shiro, her student. The fifteen-year-old boy stared at Sarada with wide and terrified eyes. He was also hanging in shackles from the ceiling. Additionally, he was gagged and his legs were tied together with a thick rope. The Chunin was in a bad shape, he was way too skinny and the dark circles under his eyes showed his lack of sleep._

_Sarada’s heart started racing. “You wouldn’t dare to disobey..“ Her voice sounded way more confident than she was._

_Still Ruri went over to the operation table, where her knives were laying in a row. She started humming and took her time to choose her weapon. Sarada looked over to Shiro and tried her best to encourage him with her confidence. He didn’t have to be afraid. These maniacs wouldn’t kill any one of their team. But then Ruri picked a short, pointy and very sharp knife. The blade glistened in the artificial light. The woman strolled over to Shrio, who recoiled in fear._

_“You can’t do that!” Sarada yelled, now unable to cover her panic._

_“Oh..” Ruri purred. “It’s been a while that you cared that much. You’ve been so apathetic lately; it almost was boring hurtin’ ya”_

_“You won’t gather any information if you kill him. The professor wouldn’t allow it. This- this will be useless.” Sarada tried to convince her._

_“We will see….” The torturer said and positioned her knife at Shrio’s left wrist. The boy screamed against the gag._

_“Do what you want with me, but leave him alone! He is just a kid!” Sarada screamed. She put her whole weight against the chains and tried to squeeze her hands through the shackles._

_Ruri paused. “How touching.” She said sarcastically._

_“You can’t do that.” Sarada said again, while the first trickle of Shiro’s blood was flowing down his arm._

_“Oh…” Ruri traced his arm downwards with the knife. “I think I can.”_

_Light-red blood welled out of the fresh cut. Sarada could tell by the amount of blood that Ruri had hit the artery. The Uchiha was a skilled medical-nin and could quickly discern critical wound. She knew he would bleed to death, if Ruri wouldn’t stop the bleeding._

_“You-…That was his artery!” Sarada fought harder and tweaked her arms. The shackles were cutting her wrists and she felt warm blood running down her own arms. She didn’t even feel the pain. Her eyes pinned Shiro, who was crying silently._

_“Look at that face!” Ruri said and grabbed Shiro’s chin roughly. Then she looked over to Sarada. “He is just a boy, who hasn’t even reached puberty properly. You don’t want him to bleed out on a hook like a pig, do you?”_

_“Heal him!” Sarada ordered. The white shirt, her student was wearing, turned red._

_“Heal him yourself.” Ruri said and watched the young Uchiha closely._

_Sarada gritted her teeth and pulled harder on the chains. The shackles cut deeper and deeper –Sarada screamed against the pain - until the metal hit her hand bones, she wouldn’t be able to squeeze her hands through. And with her weakened body, she wasn’t able to break her own bones. Desperately, she tried to forge chakra. But there was nothing. Helpless, she stopped fighting the chains._

_“Sooo…You just want to hang there and watch him die?” The woman asked, almost disappointed. The look in Shiro’s eyes hurt more than anything Sarada had ever experienced._

_“Please.” Sarada begged. She never begged before, no matter how much they racked her._

_“Wha- What was that?” Ruri seemed sursprised._

_“PLEASE!” Sarada screamed. “Please heal him!”_

_“Oho. Wow. Never thought I would hear THAT from you.” She was very satisfied. “But I’m afraid I can’t do that for you. I sure you can do this on your own. Your mother is a great medical-nin, isn’t she? She had probably taught you how to heal, didn’t she?”_

_Sarada didn’t answer. She just looked into Shiro’s eyes; he got visibly weaker and weaker._

_“You don’t wanna talk with me?” Ruri asked. “Okay.”_

_Suddenly, she cut alongside Shiro’s right arm. His scream was muffled by the gag._

_“NOO!” Sarada screamed at the top of her lungs._

_Now her student’s life was truly in danger.  The cuts were deep and follow the path of the arteries precisely._

_“His time is running out, Uchiha princess. You really should do something about it.” The torturer explained calmly._

_“Go fuck yourself!” Sarada yelled and fought even harder with the chains. With every heartbeat her student lost more and more blood._

_“Let’s spice thing up, shall we?” Ruri asked and surprised Sarada by taking out the gag. “Any last words my child?” She asked Shiro._

_The Chunin was shivering and looked over to his teacher._

_“I-… I don’t want to die, Sensei.” He said; his voice was thin and trembling._

_It broke Sarada’s heart. With a pang in her chest, she was unable to find words to describe how sorry she was. After all, she had been responsible for him and the rest of her team._

_“I’m sorry, Sensei…. This is my entire fault.” Shiro whispered. Sarada could see that he fought against the unconsciousness._

_“It is not your fault!” Sarada said. “And I won’t let you die!” She glared at her torturer and pure hatred fed her willpower. The Uchiha used her full weight again to lean against the shackles. She had to do something!_

_Ruri laughed loudly. “What do you wanna do about it? Our toxin still works.”_

_Shiro moaned in pain, his face was very pale and kind of greyish like a corpse._

_“Please! Please heal him! He is just a kid.” Sarada begged again and tears were streaming down her face._

_“No I won’t do that.” Ruri said and crossed her arms. She clearly enjoyed Sarada’s pain._

_Shiro lost his consciousness and went limp. But his wounds continued to bleed. How could it be that this slim and small boy had so much blood? A pool of blood formed around his feet. So much blood. So much red. Sarada always liked the colour, but right now she felt like she was about to throw up._

_“Hmm.. So much about emotional chakra boosts.” Ruri said and lifted Shiro head by pulling on his brown hair. With a quick movement she slit his throat._

_“NOO-!” Sarada’s voice broke and –_

Sarada was lying in the dirt. She realised that she only passed out for a few seconds; the thugs were still arguing what to do with her.

“Just go and look if she has something valuable on her! Then we will quickly get away.” One of them said.

The other one groaned, but Sarada could hear his footsteps approach.

All of her anger, hatred and grief were boiling inside of her. And these repugnant bunglers dared to mess with her.

************************

 

**Boruto’s POV**

Boruto sat down and the table, still confused by Sarada’s reaction. They just had been dancing. And while they were dancing, she didn’t move away, when he pulled her closer and closer.  So why was she upset now? Did he cross a line? Had he teased her too much? Because that was the reason why he had done it, wasn’t it? Just to tease her.

Sumire started to talk to him, but he didn’t really listen. Too many thoughts were buzzing in his head.

“I’m sorry. I will be right back.” He interrupted her and got up again.

The Uzumaki needed to sort this thing out with Sarada, before he could relax again. But when he reached the bar, he didn’t find his best friend. Where was she?

His gaze wandered over the crowd until he noticed Wasabi and Namida. They were standing nearby and seemed worried. Namida’s eyes were red and puffy. Her hair was a mess.

Boruto quickly went over. “What’s wrong?” He asked. “Have you guys seen Sarada?” He added.

The girls exchanged meaningful looks.

“She went after a thief, who stole Namida’s heirloom.” Wasabi explained.

“What? Where?” Boruto asked upset. Sarada shouldn’t face anyone on her own. She had too many drinks this evening. And maybe the thief was more dangerous than it seemed.

Namida just pointed in one direction. But before she could open her mouth, Boruto started to run.

Unable to tell where the thief and Sarada ran, Boruto rushed through the alleys. The streets were dark and completely empty. Everyone was at the feast. How should he find his team mate?

“Dammit...” Boruto cursed.

Suddenly, he heard an explosion. It was far away and a small one, maybe a paper bomb.

“Sarada..!”

He had been running in the wrong direction. Quickly, he turned around and headed towards the explosion. Boruto jumped over the rooftops to be quicker. He stayed silent and was listening for fighting sounds. But he couldn’t hear anything.

Out of nowhere, someone started screaming. Another person quickly followed. It was a horrifying tormented sound. Boruto increased his speed. Their screams got weaker and louder again, like a dreadful melody. When Boruto finally reached them, he looked down from the roof and saw two men lying on the ground. They writhed in pain and rolled around in their own urine. Their eyes were wide open and their screams turned into quiet whimpering.

Sarada was standing in front of them. Her back was turned to Boruto, so he couldn’t see her face. Even though, he was happy that she wasn’t badly injured, it was disturbing for him to watch her torturing others.

“Sarada!” He called out. “They had enough.”

Sarada didn’t seem to hear him and the thugs yelped again.

Quickly, Boruto jumped off the roof.

“Stop it! You’re killing them!” He said and grabbed Sarada by her uninjured shoulder.

When she turned quickly towards him, he flinched. He had never seen so much anger and hatred in her eyes. Her sharingan was activated and glowing red. A weird pattern flickered across Sarada’s familiar red eyes and a bloody tear was running down her left cheek.

Boruto held his hands up in defence.

“Sarada. It’s just me.” He said with a raspy voice, suddenly unsure if she would attack him.

Her eyes flickered again for a moment, before they turned back to their normal onyx colour. The men passed out, as soon as she deactivated her Kekkei Genkai.

Sarada held her head and closed her eyes for a second. “Boruto? What are you doing here?” She asked confused.

“What did you do to them? And what’s happening with your eyes?” Boruto countered. He never saw Sarada using her abilities like that. Normally, she only used her Genjustu to trick her enemies, not to harm them directly. But Boruto only knew how she used her eyes during normal mission, who knows want she did on ANBU missions.

“Genjustu…” She said as it was obvious. “I can do that, if you can’t remember.”

But she looked down at the two men and didn’t meet Boruto’s gaze as if she was ashamed for her radical action. His gut feeling told him that something was seriously wrong. And usually Boruto trusted his guts.

“But your eyes were flickering. They were different-” He began.

“I don’t know you saw but- urgh!” In sudden pain, Sarada staggered and pressed her palms against her eyes.

“Sarada!” Boruto supported her. “What’s wrong? Why are your eyes bleeding?”

She pushed him away from her and wiped the blood from her face with her sleeve.

“It’s nothing. Just the fucking contacts.” She grumbled, clearly testy. Sarada started to pick the lenses out of her eyes. She threw them away and rubbed her bloodshot eyes.

“You should go to the hospital. Your shoulder needs some medical attention. And you should get your eyes checked!” Boruto said deeply worried. Something was defiantly wrong.

 “This?” Sarada asked and pointed at the Kunai, which still stuck in her shoulder. “This is nothing.”

Before Boruto could react or protest she grabbed one of the throwing knives and pulled it out at one go. She barely winced; apathetic she already reached out for the second knife.

“Stop!” Boruto said shocked. The wound was very deep and a lot of blood welled up. Quickly, he took of his fabric belt to stop the bleeding.

“Don’t be such a drama queen Boruto.” Sarada said annoyed and pulled out the second knife. The third one quickly followed. The weapons clanged loudly, when the hit the floor. The Uchiha pressed her hand onto the wounds. Her hand began to glow bluish green and after a few seconds the wounds disappeared.

“See? Nothing to worry about.” The raven-haired said and looked provocatively up to her worried friend.

Boruto didn’t answer. Another medical could’ve checked and cleaned the wound first, so there was a slimmer chance that an injured tendon or something else was missed.

Sarada turned her back on him and went over to the unconscious criminals on the ground. With practised movement, she went through their pockets and looted their plunder. Then, she got up again and examined her torn and blood covered outfit.

“Well, I can’t go back to the ball like that. So, here.” Sarada approached Boruto and gave him a small but beautiful hair accessory.  “I assume this is Namida’s.”

Boruto putted it into an inner pocket of his kimono.

“What about them?” He asked and pointed at the men.

“Take them to the guards of the feast. The police should decide what to do with them.” She answered coldly.

“What did you do to them?” The Uzumaki dug deeper. His eyes were examining her face for any reaction.

“I already told you. It was just a small genjustu to scare them and to teach them a lesson.” Her tone was reserved and she didn’t meet his gaze.

“Didn’t look like a small scare…” Boruto replied.

Sarada stayed silent and looked down.

“To me it looked like you were about to kill them-“ He continued, but his voice broke. Even though, Sarada was a very skilled and deadly warrior, she never had been cruel. She only hurt the enemies as much as necessary. And she was a healer after all, not a murderer.

“You’re exaggerating.” She said angrily. “I would never kill, if I don’t have to! These are just two idiots and they made me angry. Bring them to the police, give the heirloom back and go back to Sumire!”

Sarada was about to go, but Boruto grabbed her by her wrist.

“Talk to me, Sarada.” Boruto said quietly. “Please, tell me what’s on your mind. I hate to see you so…” He was lost of words.

For a few heartbeats, it seemed that Sarada was finally about to open up. But then she freed herself from his grip.

“I need a shower. Go back to the ball Boruto.” With these words, she left him alone in the alleyways.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed :)  
> What do you think? What is going on with Sarada’s eyes? How can Boruto get her to open up about her trauma?  
> Leave kudos if you like ;) 
> 
> P.S. What do you think about these flashbacks or ever complete flashback chapters? I still got a lot to write about the things that happened to Sarada. I’m thinking about a prequel …  
> So are you guys just here for BoruSara stuff and dislike these flashback and I should put these in another work? Or do you want to read them here (because this is an important part of the story)?  
> Please comment below


	11. Fireworks

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarada tries to deal with her past. Boruto can't relax and is worried about Sarada.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I’m back. And I know it’s been a month again. (Sorry >.<)  
> Please forgive me for any mistakes ^^’  
> Hope you enjoy >:D
> 
> WARNING: PSTD, depression, alcohol abuse

Her head was throbbing. It felt like she was a ticking time-bomb about to explode. Her vision was still blurry. Without the contacts or her glasses, Sarada had a pretty bad eye sight. But this was different. Red light flickered at the edge of her visual field with stinging pain.

While she was walking home, Sarada pressed her hand on her injured shoulder. Even though she had healed it properly, there was still a sharp pain in her shoulder blade. Her heart was racing and her instincts were telling her to flee. This little injury brought her body back to the bunker, where she had experienced way worse. The young Uchiha gritted her teeth and tried to her best to suppress the rising panic. She pulled her hand away and concentrated to breathe slowly.

Inhale. Hold. Exhale. Pause.

Still the pain didn’t vanish, it got even worse. For unknown reason, her left forearm started to hurt. This arm had been broken and healed several times by her torturers - just to see how hard it was to break bones. Sarada could still hear the horrible cracking noise.

Against her will, her steps got faster. She tried to concentrate on the noises in the distance, anything to distract herself. The crowd was still celebrating and the music sounded happy and rollick. A breeze carried the smell of the food stalls. Sweet scent of the desserts mixed with the strong smell of the savoury dishes made Sarada feel sick.

It reminded her of the smell of burning flesh. Sarada’s _own_ burning flesh. The scars, that covered her body, began to itch.

************************

_Calmly, Masaru brushed a strand of hair out of Sarada’s face and wiped the tears away with his thumb. Even though, the touch was soft, the skin of his hands was rough and Sarada backed away as much as she could._

_“Try to focus.” He said. His voice was weirdly high for a man with his bulky, muscular build. “If you lose your consciousness again, I have to heal you_ again!” _He underlined the last word so sharply that Sarada flinched._

_Masaru moved closer and she felt his warm breath on her face._

_“You know how much I hate to heal… I’m just not good at it. I don’t want to be remembered…” He whispered in her ear. “And you don’t wanna make me angry, do you?”_

_The young Uchiha shook her head vehemently. She had lost her fighting spirit many days ago. Or had it been weeks? A month?_

_“Good girl.” Masaru murmured and patted her cheek._

_When he turned away, he smiled. His instruments of torture were lying in a brazier._

_“Ah… the iron is finally ready again.”_

_He picked a long red glowing iron bar and faced Sarada again._

_“Now. Focus.” He ordered and thrust forward._

_The metal bored into Sarada’s flesh with a hiss and she screamed._

_****************_

Now Sarada was running. When she reached her home, she took two steps at a time and finally, she stood in front of her flat door. With shaking hands, Sarada opened the door and closed it behind her.

A pained sob escaped her lips, but she didn’t allow herself to break down. She made her way to the bathroom, peeled herself out the blood-soaked Kimono and her underwear. Naked, she tore her hair accessory out of her raven black mane and got into the shower. She hadn’t even turned on the lights.

Sarada pressed her palms against the cool wall tiles and let the fresh shower wash away the horrible itching of her skin and her dark memories. The water at her feet turned red because of the half-dried blood on her back and in her hair. It almost made her sick again. Desperately, she tried to focus on the present, the smooth ceramic of the tiles, her heart beat which became slower, and the icy water that soaked her hair. Her body was covered with Goosebumps and she was shivering, but it helped.

The water and the trembling made her feel real.

It made her feel alive.

No matter what had happened. She was here. She survived and escaped. She had her chakra back. Nobody could hurt her that easily again.

She started scrubbing her face to remove the make-up.

But her mind was wandering back to the thieves, who tried to hurt her. Now they probably had regrets about it.

_“Stop it! You’re killing them!”_ Boruto’s desperate voice echoed in her head. Sarada hadn’t even realised how powerful her gen-justu was, until Boruto stopped her. She didn’t even noticed what she was really doing. When Boruto had turned her away from the criminals, the amount chakra usage had made her spin.

Now Sarada was ashamed. She clearly overreacted. There was no need to rack these poor bastards. Maybe she would’ve killed them by accident if Boruto hadn’t been the.

She turned off the water and got out of the shower. Quickly, she wrapped her cold wet hair in a towel and dried herself off. The shower had helped her to calm down, but it didn’t stop her head ache or her flickering vision.

The young Uchiha went to her room and put on her glasses. Hopefully, it would make her feel better.  From her closet, she picked fresh underpants, a comfortable sports bra and cosy oversized black hoodie. Then she returned to the bathroom and stared at the messy pile of her cloth. The Uchiha insignia, that she had embroidered, was completely red now. And the holes were clearly visible in the fabric.

How should she explain this to her parents? She didn’t want to upset them again. She didn’t want them to know.

Sarada decided that she had to get rid of clothes later.

When she looked into the mirror, she saw that her eyes were still flickering. Her sharingan activated itself for one spilt-second and disappeared again. She frowned and concentrated. Her eyes started to glow red with her three tomoe. The familiar pattern spun around her pupil and suddenly another pattern appeared on her iris. Sarada sprung back.

Was it possible? Did she achieve the next stage of her Kekkei Genkei?

She adjusted her glasses and got closer to the mirror again, but the pattern was gone. Only her normal sharingan eyes were staring back at her.

“Mangekyou…” she whispered in disbelief and touched the mirror glass.  Pure excitement rushed through her veins. She knew what she saw. So why couldn’t she keep it activated?

She concentrated again and looked angrily at her mirror-self. Her eyes were glowing and flickering again. The pain in her eyeballs was almost unbearable. But she couldn’t activate the Mangekyou properly.

Sarada gritted her teeth and became impatient.

“COMMON!” she yelled and slammed her fist against the mirror. The glass cracked, but didn’t splinter because she held herself back in the last second.  Disappointed, she lowered her fist. Her knuckles were red and slightly wounded.

_“You can fight back as much as you want. You can cry. You can beg. You can refuse to eat to put up resistance. But. We. Will. Break. You.”_ The voice of her torturers echoed in her mind.

They’ve made it. She thought. They had broken her.

Devastated, she deactivated her dojustu. A single tear ran down her cheek.

“You are such a failure, Sarada...” She said to her cracked reflection and turned away, unable to look at herself anymore.

She threw her hair towel into a corner, gathered up the clothes from the ground and went to her room again. She put torn kimono into a pouch and put on a pair of jeans. She collected her keys and some money. Then she put on the hood and left the flat.

 

The side streets were still empty, almost abandoned. Sarada was looking for a 24-hours-shop or a kiosk, but most of them were closed because of the public holiday. A few blocks further, she finally found a little shop that was open.

Sarada entered the shop and saw a young shop assistant at the counter; with his feet put up, he was playing a video game with his handheld console. When he realised someone entered the shop, he jumped and hide his console behind his back.

“Good evening and welcome!” He quickly said.

Sarada didn’t answer. She turned her back on him and went to the liquor shelves. Without considering, Sarada choose a bottle of vodka. She knew she wouldn’t be able to sleep, but she was so tired… She needed to rest. The strong alcohol would help her.

Still she needed to get rid of the kimono first.

She went to the counter, picked a lighter on her way and put both in front of the boy.

He eyed her curiously.

“Additional supplies for a private party?” He asked friendly, trying to make small talk or to crack a joke.

“Yeah…” Sarada said coldly. She didn’t meet his gaze but stared at the shelves behind him.

Under some indefinable impulse, she pointed at a specific packet of cigarettes.

“And one of these, please.” She added and looked at the shop assistant.

He took one packet. “This brand?”

Sarada nodded, paid for everything and left the shop without another word.

One of her ANBU team members, Ryu, was a smoker. And he smoked this type of cigarettes Sarada held right know. She knew smoking was bad for the organs and Ryu knew it too. When she asked him, why he smoked, he said it soothes his mind. He didn’t smoke for the taste or because some people thought it was ‘cool’. It was just to comfort him and to calm down. Also, Ryu had no family or real friends, just his ANBU career. He didn’t plan to become old and “useless”.

Sarada had this conversation a long time ago and couldn’t really believe that cigarettes could calm people down. Still she opened the cigarette box and picked one. Clumsy, she held it between her index and her middle finger and put it to her mouth. She put the box in her hoodie pocket and lightened the cigarette. Carefully, she took a drag. Instantly, she started coughing because of the unfamiliar heavy and bitter taste.

Sarada pulled a face. The taste was just disgusting.

She tried it again. The warm (disgusting) smoke filled her lungs and she blew it out evenly. Nothing happened. With the third drag, she inhaled very deeply and fought the urge to cough. This time, the smoke made her hand slightly swim.

But it wasn’t a negative dizziness. Sarada felt really calm and relaxed.

“Who would have thought…” She muttered and looked at the fag.

With the bag of clothes and the bottle of vodka in one hand and the cigarette in the other, she strolled down the street.  The young Uchiha had an idea, where she could throw away her kimono, so nobody would find it.

When she reached the small pedestrian bridge, she looked over her shoulder to be sure nobody was watching her. Then she put down the bottle and rummaged the kimono out of the bag. For a few seconds, Sarada held the sticky fabric and stared at the Uchiha symbol.

What a pathetic Uchiha she was. Unable to control the Kekkei Genkai she was gifted with.

She pulled out the lighter, turned it on and held it towards the kimono. The wet fabric didn’t ignite, but the clan insignia sweltered and turned black so it was unintelligible. It smelled terribly. Sarada stopped and threw the kimono over the parapet.

With a quiet splash, the cloth landed in the river and got carried away instantly. The young Uchiha was on her way home again.   


  
  
  
**Boruto’s POV**

After Boruto brought the unconscious thieves to a police officer, he went back to the ball, looking for Namida and Wasabi. He found them still standing away from the crowd. Wasabi held the smaller girl in her arms and Namida’s head rested on her chest.

Boruto felt uncomfortable to interrupt their intimacy, but when they saw Boruto approach, they quickly released the embrace.

Without a word he handed Namida the small hair accessory. Her eyes widened in disbelief. Then she threw her arms around Boruto neck and hugged him tightly.

“Thank you, Boruto!” She whispered and her voice broke. A small sob of joy escaped her lips.

Wasabi smiled and seemed relieved. Boruto felt himself grinning, too.

“Yeah. Thanks a lot, Boruto.” The tall girl said. “But tell me, what happened? Where is Sarada?”

Boruto’s smile vanished.

“Without her, I wouldn’t have got them. She got them first, but they surprised her with a few kunai.” He answered.

Namida covered her mouth with both hands.

“Oh no!” She exclaimed shocked.

“Don’t worry. She got them anyway, even before I got there. And her wounds were healed, so she is fine. Just her outfit was a bit ruined, that she decided to go home.” He tried to comfort the couple. “The thieves are at the police department right now and will be interrogated.”

“We have to make it up to her somehow.” Namida said and looked over to Wasabi.

“Yes. We’ll thank her personally tomorrow. And get her a new kimono or something.” She suggested.

Boruto was about to protest, because he didn’t want them to see Sarada in this state. But then he realised that he only would cause more disquiet if he interfered. 

“Away… I hope you’ll have a nice and peaceful evening.” He said and was about to go.

“Thanks again!” Namida said.

“I wish you a nice evening with Sumire, too.” Wasabi said and winked.

Boruto froze. He wanted to look for Sarada, to be sure that she is okay. Her distress got him really worried. Something wasn’t right. Something horrible did happen to her during her last mission.

He hadn’t even thought about Sumire for one split second. And she was his date for this night.

The Uzumaki bit his bottom lip and felt guilty. He owed Sumire at least an apology. So he made his way through the crowd, back to the table where all his friends were sitting.

Instantly, Sumire turned her head towards him.

“Boruto-kun! You got me worried. Are you okay? Where have you been?” She asked and sounded sincere. Her eyes examined him anxiously, as if she expected him to be wounded. Or was it something else, she was looking for?

“You almost missed the firework display, Boruto. It starts in twenty minutes.” Mitsuki added and looked at him questioningly.

The rest of the table was staring too.

“Yeah, sorry guys but I had a bit of a problem.” Boruto explained and sat down next to Sumire.

He tried to relax and sipped his drink. Chouchou started blabbing about the stuff he had missed and everyone else at the table returned to whatever they were doing.

But Boruto wasn’t able to shake of his worries. The expression on Sarada’s face, her red glowing eyes filled with hatred, haunted his mind. Right now, he had a deep desire to be with her, to help her.

He was sure, Sarada needed to talk about whatever happened, to get it off her chest. Or it would eat her up from the inside. But would she tell him more about her mission?  Boruto was worried that Sarada would reject him again if he would ask her about it. She had distanced herself strongly from everyone that he wasn’t sure if his words would reach her. But what if she was in such a dark place that-

Suddenly, a warm hand touched his shoulder. It surprised him so much that he flinched from the soft grip.

“What’s bothering you, Boruto-kun?” Sumire asked quietly and moved closer. Her purple eyes were worried and sad. Quickly, he avoided her glaze.

Another wave of guilt filled Boruto’s guts.

“It’s nothing, really.” Boruto tried to decline.

“Don’t lie to me, please. I just want to help you.” Sumire said and seemed hurt.

The Uzumaki couldn’t shake off this restless feeling. Something was wrong. He _needed_ do go to Sarada.

“I’m sorry, Sumire.” He said and got up again. “I have to go… on my own.”

The purple-haired girl grabbed his sleeve.

Surprised Boruto looked down to her. This time her gaze wasn’t sad, it was taunting.

She didn’t let go. But didn’t say anything either.

Boruto wasn’t sure how he should react. So he just stared back at her.

“Why…” She finally asked with a trembling voice. “Why is this the first time, you really look at me tonight?”

Boruto’s eyes widened. He didn’t know what to say.

Sumire let go, when he didn’t answer. She shook her head.

“Just go.”  Sumire said.

He swallowed hard and turned his back on her.

“I’m sorry.” He whispered and left.

 

 

The firework started, when Boruto reached the flat of the Uchiha’s. The colourful blasts enlightened the night sky and he heard the crowd cheer in the distance.

The front door wasn’t locked, so Boruto went in. No light was turned on and there was cold draught coming from Sarada’s room.

Nervously, he moved towards the door frame.

“Sarada?” He called out.

Then, he pushed the door slowly open.

Sarada was sitting on the windowsill with one knee drawn up, the other leg dangling down. The window was wide open, letting the fresh breeze in. She was watching the fireworks and wore nothing but an oversized black hoodie, which almost reached her knees. The black fabric formed a strong contrast with her pale skin, making her look surreal in the colour-changing light of the fireworks. Her hair was damp from the shower and she wore her red-framed glasses.

For a second, Boruto was mesmerized by this beautiful sight.

But then he realized that she held a bottle of alcohol in one hand and a cigarette in the other. The liquid in the half-empty bottle was clear and probably high-proof. Silently, Sarada took a deep drag of the cigarette and ignored Boruto.

His first reaction was anger. Why was she sitting here, smoking, getting drunk and acting as if he wasn’t there? Still he held himself back and waited for her to say something.

With a deep sigh, Sarada exhaled the smoke. She put down the bottle.

“You probably ask yourself, what I’m doing here.” She finally broke the silence, but didn’t look in his direction. She spoke with a slight slur and was clearly pretty drunk.

Still, Boruto stood in the doorframe and just crossed his arms.

She chuckled without joy. “And I have no answer. I don’t know what I’m doing.” Her voice was raspy and deeper than usual. She brushed some hair out her face, took off her glasses and rubbed her eyes. It was a small, desperate movement as if she was holding back tears.

“I just can’t handle it.” She whispered.

Boruto saw his chance and took a step forward.

“Then, please let me help.” He said and desired nothing more than hugging her close.

“I don’t know if you can.” Sarada said, took the last drag of the cigarette and threw the butt out of the window.

He took another step towards his best friend and team mate.

“Tell me what’s wrong and we’ll figure something out, together.” Boruto recommended.

“It isn’t that easy.” She protested.

“Please, Sarada. I’m worrying myself sick about you.” His voice was trembling.

Something made her meet his gaze.

Maybe it was the alcohol; maybe his genuine feelings or Sarada was just tired of saying nothing.

But she finally said. “Fine, I’ll tell you what has happened.”

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> DUN… Dun… dun  
> That’s it for this chapter. Please comment your thoughts and questions down below.  
> I’ll answer the questions, if the answers don’t spoiler anything.   
> Please leave Kudos if you like  
> Thanks for reading, hope you stay tuned :)
> 
> P.S. There won’t be a prequel (at least for the moment ^^’)


	12. Late-night talk

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Sarada opens up to Boruto about her mission.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey I’m back :)  
> Let me tell you, this chapter is a real emotional rollercoaster >:D  
> Thank you for reading ^^  
> WARING: torture (mentioned)

**Boruto’s POV**

“Fine, I’ll tell you what has happened.”

Involuntary, Boruto held his breath for a second. He was scared that he could say something wrong what could change her mind again. For a while, both of them stared into each other’s eyes. Sky blue met onyx black. In the background, the last fireworks shot into the air and exploded with a colourful blast. Sarada was the first who looked away.

The following silence was almost unbearable.

“Still, it’s a long story.” She said and adjusted her sitting position. Thereby, she almost fell from the windowsill. With quick steps, Boruto was with her and supported her. Obviously, she was drunker than she expected.

“Careful…” He said quietly.

“I’m fine. I got it. “She said and moved back from him.

Boruto sat down on the other side of the windowsill, facing his best friend. Discreet he moved the vodka away from her, as if the bottle was in his way. Nevertheless, Sarada noticed it and frowned offended, but she didn’t protest. Instead she just stared out of the window again.

“So… What happened?” Boruto asked hesitantly. He didn’t to push her, but he was curious too.

She sighed and was looking for the right words.

“It all began like any other ANBU mission…” She began. “The captain of the team- this time, the first time, it was me as you know- the captain has a long appointment with the Hokage to get all the details of the mission before the team is send off.

It sounded like a normal mission. In a small village at the borders of the Land of fire, people disappeared mysteriously. This village contacted Konoha for help. Quickly, a team of Chunin was sent off to guard the village and also to investigate the missing cases.  But then… The team of shinobi went missing too.”

Sarada paused and lightened another cigarette. She took a deep drag an exhale slowly.

Boruto held himself back with his questions and waited patiently for her to continue.

“Your father assumed that the team kept track of something suspicious. And that they haven’t got the time to write a message… Or maybe something went wrong. That’s why we were sent off to investigate. Naruto-sama didn’t expect something extraordinary. Some raider or a gang of criminals… Nothing any ANBU team couldn’t handle. That’s why he allowed me to choose the team members. And I…”

Her voice broke for a second and she needed another drag.

“I chose my ANBU student Shiro. He just joined the ANBUs two months before the mission, but he was very eager and remarkably talented for his fifteen years.

Additionally, I asked my previous mentor, Ryu to join me for the mission. He is a very experienced ANBU captain, who lives for his job.

And Miyu. She and I completed various missions together. She is also well experienced and a quiet powerful kunoichi.

This was my team. Trustworthy and good shinobi, who I could rely on. I thought I had made a good decision.”

She took another drag and looked over to Boruto as if she expected him to say something. He only had stayed quiet because he didn’t want to interrupt her. But in his head he already had a thousand questions.

“You never mentioned that you’ve had a student.” He put his spinning thoughts into words.

“Yeah… because I was an _ANBU_ teacher.” She said and rolled with her eyes.

“So…this Shiro was so good that you took him with you.” Boruto concluded.

“Yes. Shiro is a member of the Aburame clan, a distant relative of Shino-sensei. He was chosen for the ANBU squad, because he has the rare ability to host nano-sized venomous insects and because it was his biggest dream to become an ANBU-nin. So I taught him the basics of the ANBU tactics and communications, tested his fighting techniques and adjusted them. He was a quick learner. That’s why he became impatient.

He wanted a chance; he finally wanted his first mission, just like I wanted my first mission as ANBU captain. Therefore, I chose him, even though I hadn’t known what would happen.” Sarada continued. “Anyways… after one and a half day of travelling, we reached the village but we stayed out of sight and observed the villagers from the distance. We were looking for anything suspicious. We followed the caravan routes and the traders. We explored the surrounding area. But nothing abnormal happened for ten days. No criminals, no raiders and no dangerous wild animals. Nothing that explained the vanishing…

So I decided to take the initiative. I entered the village – underground, dressed up like a nomad or trading traveller – and I started asking around, inconspicuously of course. That was my first mistake. There were spies among the villagers and I didn’t notice them.

Quickly, I gathered a lot of new information and left the village at night. Now we knew, in which area the people vanished and in which direction the Chunin-team went. The next morning, we set out.

After we investigated the aforesaid area more closely, it didn’t took long to find something. We detected an entrance to and underground base, but because we didn’t know how many enemies were in there, we didn’t go in. We built a camp nearby and observed the entrance. I wrote to your father that we had a track and that I didn’t know when I was able to write again.  We had to focus on the mission and had to stay undercover. No matter what.

That’s why nobody was sent out to look for us. Naruto-sama read my message and thought he would endanger the mission if someone new showed up, looking for us.”

“But we hadn’t heard from you in _months_!” Boruto protested. He couldn’t keep his mouth shut.

Sarada smoked silently her cigarette, avoided his gaze and didn’t react to his comment.

After a few moments of silence she began again.

“Long story short: we messed up and had been found by the bunker group. They lured us into a trap captured us successfully. The underground base was a private and secret research lab. Additionally, it had a prison and a torture chamber.” She said toneless.

Boruto shifted in discomfort, caused by the words _torture chamber_. “How did they get you all? I mean, you aren’t easy to defeat...” He muttered.

Sarada sighed. “They are a group that wants to revolutionise the world. They are doing reach on a toxin that supresses the chakra. They want to overthrow ‘unfair’ the shinobi system, to defend the common people.”

“Unfair?” Boruto asked.

“ _The strong shinobi uses his chakra to wield their power over weaker persons.”_ Sarada changed her voice to underline that she was quoting someone else. “ _The great shinobi wars, raiders with powerful justus, hatred, poverty and sorrow – all caused by people who could coincidentally use chakra better than others. We will put an end to it by tackle the problem at source._ ”

“Bullshit! Shinobi are there to protect the weaker people!” Boruto exclaimed.

Again Sarada ignored his words.

“Anyways, this toxin - they used - had also a sedating side effect. And at the beginning they mixed it with other strong drugs – to be sure we wouldn’t be able to escape. We were quasi paralysed. I was unable to count the days, but after some time they changed the medication. Less drugs, more of their experimental poison –they were still careful with the dosage. Many of their _subjects_ had died, because of an overdose.

When I was able to think clearly again, I realised that their stuff was weakening me, but I still could use my chakra. I decided to wait a few days, to gather more strength to break free. I couldn’t talk to my team mates. They kept us separated so we couldn’t make a plan.

I was successful. I got rid of my chains and slew a handful of the guards down, but when I tried to free Shiro, Ryu and Miyu – They subdued me again, this time they gave me more of their poison.”

 A cold shiver ran down his spine, when Boruto tried to put himself into Sarada’s position. Sedated and unable to forge chakra in a lion’s den.

“When they were sure that they got the right dosage for every one of us, they properly started their… experiments.” Sarada came to a halt, but only for a few seconds. “They analysed and recorded, how our body, our heart beat, our neuronal activity reacted to the toxin. 

But they knew chakra ‘production’ increased when the chakra user is in danger. So they put us under physical stress – in other words. They tortured us. “ Sarada’s voice was calm and indifferent as if she wasn’t even involved. It made Boruto furious.

“They hit me, they kicked me, they broke my bones, they cut my skin, they used electric shocks, they branded me with glowing iron and they did waterboarding and so on. I don’t think you need to know all the dirty details… Every time they finished their wild torture sessions, they healed me. When I passed out more than once, they immediately stopped- to afraid they could actually kill me.

The next day they could start all over again. They never became bored and they were really… creative. It was never the same; it never became more endurable…And they went on for… almost three months”

Boruto swallowed hard to counteract the rising nausea.

“How did you escape?” He asked, his voice was raspy and his throat felt constricted.

“During this period of time, they had improved their formula effectively and they had collected a huge amount of new information… but it wasn’t enough. They knew that emotional pain could also boost the chakra of a shinobi. So… one of them killed Shiro – _the ‘weakest’ of us, who wouldn’t last much longer anyways_ – She killed him, right in front of me.” Sarada stopped for a moment and fought against the tear which welled up in her eyes.

“Somehow, this helped me escape. When she slit his throat, everything turned red and suddenly Ruri – the torturer – was lying under me. I had smashed her head with a machete, several times. Somehow I gained new great chakra amount, which hasn’t been there before. It was enough to overcome the poison – that’s how I was able to break free from my chains. But Ruri had fought back; another syringe with the toxin stuck in my arm, supressing my new-found power.” Sarada pressed her palm against one eye. “Shiro’s death had activated my Mangekyou, I think.”

Boruto knew it was one of her biggest goals to active the next stage of her dojustu. But now she couldn’t be happy about it. It had cost her too much.

“You know the rest. Somehow, I found my way here and a patrol had found me in mud.” She ended and let her hand sink. She looked at him, waiting for his reaction. Her eyes seemed empty and darker than usual, almost dull. Boruto realized the fierce fire in her eye –that he knew and loved his whole life - was missing.

He was speechless.

“Now I have this power, but I can’t use it. Every time, I try to train, try to focus… I get these flashbacks and my hands start to shake, I can’t breathe and my heart is racing. And when these thieves attacked me… I clearly overreacted.” Sarada explained, but not defend her behaviour.

“I’m sorry I shouted at you…I can’t even image, what you’ve been through.” Boruto finally spoke up. His voice was raspy and he noticed a tear running down his cheek. “I’m so sorry for you loss, Sarada.”

Her gaze softened and she reached out to wipe his tear away. Her cold fingers stroke his cheek gently.

“Thanks for being such an annoying nag, forcing me to talk. And thank you for listening.” She whispered and tried to grin.

Even though the smile didn’t reach her eyes, her words made Boruto chuckle. Sarada obviously tried to cheer him up by teasing him.

“Thanks, for trusting me.” Boruto replied and was sincerely thankful.

“And no need to be sad… I’ll soon avenge Shiro’s death and free my team mates. Afterwards I’ll feel a lot better.” She said, as if it was a matter of course.

A cold shiver ran down Boruto’s back. “What do you mean?” He asked irritated. She just told him she wasn’t in the right condition for a fight.

“Next week, I’ll join the ANBU team who observe the ‘scientist’ group right now. Together, we will charge the bunker… and I’ll kill – every – last – one – of them.” The pure hatred in her eyes scared Boruto.

“You just said, you can properly focus.” The Uzumaki responded.

“It will be different, when I face them…” Sarada said determined. “After everything they’ve done… It will be a pleasure to defeat them.”

Boruto had his doubts and was really worried she wouldn’t be able to combat this group. But he knew that Sarada needed his support right now. She was in such a dark place; he couldn’t afford upsetting her even more.

“I know that you will.” He lied. “Now that you know, what you’re dealing with, they have no chance at all.”

“Thanks…” She whispered, tears in her eyes. “It means a lot to me… you still have trust in me – unlike my parents.” Her eyes met his again.

He reached out and held her hand without breaking their intense eye contact. Her skin was ice-cold.

“You’re freezing.” He muttered absently, hypnotised by her gaze. “You should go to bed, warm up and sleep off the alcohol…”

Sarada hesitated. “Can you stay?”

Boruto’s eyes widened; he was really surprised by this question.

“Until I’m asleep, at least… I have these nightmares…” She explained. “That’s why I’m drunk… I hoped then I can finally get some proper sleep.”

“Of course, I stay.” Boruto quickly said and closed the window.

With wavering step, Sarada made her way to her bed and got under the duvet. Boruto sat down at the edge of the bed.

But Sarada lifted the blanket and looked at him.

“Don’t sit there and watch me like some creep.” She spoke with a slur.

After a moment of hesitation, he lied down next to her.

“Better?” He asked and turned on the side that he faced her.

“Yes.” Sarada said, moved closer and snuggled up to him. Her entire body was pretty cold and it made him shiver.

Boruto’s heart skipped a beat. _It’s just the alcohol_ , he thought to himself. Yet, he wrapped his arms around her, to warm her up. For a while, her head rested on his chest.

He hoped his heart wasn’t pumping too fast and loud.

For a while, they just lied there, providing each other warmth.

“Thank you.” Sarada broke the silence, just when Boruto thought she was already asleep.

 “No problem.” He answered quietly.

Without thinking about it, Boruto pressed his lips on the top of her head, kissing her hair. It was just a small movement of affection, but he regretted it instantly. Sarada shifted and looked up to him with an unreadable expression on her face.

Boruto was just about to apologise – that he just wanted to show his deep compassion - when Sarada kissed him out of nowhere. Her lips were slightly parted and pressed soft against his.  Naturally, he responded, while he had a weird feeling in his stomach.

Instantly, she became more passionate and pressed her whole body against his. A quiet moan escaped her lips. Boruto tasted the cigarettes and the alcohol from her lips and realised that they shouldn’t do something they could regret later. Immediately, he stopped and moved a bit back from her.

“What?” She asked with her husky voice. Her eyes were blazing dark from desire.

“Sarada…” His voice was hoarse, too. “You’re really drunk.”

“Since when do you care?! Usually, you would fuck anything with a pulse. Now you back away from a little make-out session?” Sarada snapped.

Her word struck him. Yes, he had been with some girls, even though it never meant anything to him, but still he wasn’t that superficial.

“I just wanted it… to feel better. No need to make a drama out of it.” She added and turned away from him.

This hurt him even more, although he couldn’t tell why.

“Should I stay or should I go?” Boruto asked.

“I don’t care.” She said.

Stubborn as he was, he decided to stay anyways. He still lied next to her in silence, though their bodies didn’t touch. Boruto racked his brain about his best friend.

 Her behaviour was so abnormal – the Sarada he knew would never act that way. And Boruto always had known her best.  It made him worry about her even more. The things that happened to her had changed her in a way that he couldn’t evaluate her next move. He couldn’t forefeel, what she was thinking. She just wasn’t the same anymore.

And that scared him.

He wasn’t ready to loosen their close bond. He wasn’t ready to grow apart.

And when she would leave again, he was afraid he would lose her forever. Either she would die during combat, or she would slaughter her enemies down and succumb to her hatred.

Boruto wouldn’t allow that to happen.

While he listened to Sarada’s even and calm breaths, he made a plan to prevent her mission. But he couldn’t betray her and tell anyone that she talked to him about her mission. This was highly confidential information.

After a while, Boruto figured out what to do. Carefully he stood up so he didn’t wake her.  Then he put a pillow right behind Sarada’s back that she wasn’t able to roll on her back. When he looked over to the bottle of vodka – which was more than the half empty - he was sure she needed to throw up sooner or later. And he didn’t want her to suffocate on her own vomit.

Then he put a glass of water on her bedside table and left the flat.

On his way to the Hokage and Administration building, he avoided the crowds of the festival and took the small contorted alleyways. At the building, Boruto sneaked past some guards – which were also celebrating – and entered the office of his father. Exceptionally, it was dark and empty, no shadow clone at the desk doing paper work.

Boruto’s mother had successfully forced his father to take the evening off.

The young Uzumaki was glad and began to rummage through files and papers. After a while, he found out that one file cabinet was locked. With some violence he tried to open it, but realised that is was sealed. Boruto pressed his head against the cabinet and concentrated his chakra-flow. It couldn’t be a too complicated seal.

It took him some time, but he finally was able to open the drawers. The missions were sorted by the dates and he quickly found the right file.

He scanned the texts quickly to be sure and stopped at Sarada’s report. It was written rational and neutral, but very detailed. Many pages were filled with her clean and small handwriting, describing the horror she has been through. His hands tensed up when stumble across something Sarad hasn’t told him about.

One of the torturers, Masaru, had tried to rape her. He hadn’t been successful, just because another group member had stopped him.

Boruto swallowed hard. Never again, she should have to be close to these monsters. She shouldn’t have to see one of these people’s faces ever again. He wouldn’t allow it.

He was trembling, because of the anger he held inside. Quickly, he gathered the papers and left the office through the windows. On his way home, he worked out the things he would say to his father.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> What do you think? Please comment below :)  
> Don’t forget to leave kudos, if you liked it :3  
> (In future I would like to write make-out sessions and maybe some smut but I’m very insecure on this matter >.<)


	13. Betrayal

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Boruto confronts his dad and that has consequences.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Hey ho I originally wanted to post this chapter as a Christmas gift to you all, but then I didn’t have the time, sorry >.< And then the chapter became longer than expected ¯\\_(ツ)_/¯  
> I hope you had great Christmas days and wish you a happy new year. (2020… when did that happen?!)  
> As always, please excuse my mistakes and thank you so much for reading.

**Boruto’s POV**

When Boruto arrived at home – with the ANBU-file under his arm – he had to realise that nobody was home. His parents were still at the ball and even Himawari was still out.

“If you touch her, I’ll kill you, Inojin.” Boruto muttered in the dark, but pushed the thoughts of his younger sister aside.

He sat down on the couch in the living room and threw the file on the coffee table. A thousands questions were spinning in his head. But he knew he probably would have to wait some time, before his father would come home. So Boruto leaned back, crossed his arms, stared blankly at the ceiling and waited.

 

Hours later, he startled because of a sudden noise – a key in the lock of the front door. Boruto realised that he had fallen asleep. He looked over to the digital clock. The luminous numbers showed that it was almost 4 am.

He heard someone enter.

Naruto sighed loudly and happily. “Thanks Hinata, I reaaaally needed an evening off.”

“I always tell you to take it easy once in a while.” Hinata replied, with a cheeky undertone, Boruto never heard before.

“I know. I know. You’re simply the best wife.” His father stated.

“You know… you could be a good husband too, if you follow me into our room… And spend me some company” His mom teased.

Boruto heard kissing noises and jumped. He heard more than enough – even though a part of him felt bad for interrupting. He grabbed the file and quickly made his way to the hall way. He hid the file behind his back and cleared his throat loudly.

His parents - who held each other in a passionate embrace - jumped apart.

“BORUTO?!” His dad exclaimed, clearly shocked.

His mother looked to the ground; she seemed ashamed but also disappointed. “We didn’t realised you were home.” She muttered shyly.

“We need to talk.” Boruto said gravely towards his dad.

Naruto was clearly tipsy and didn’t notice his seriousness. “Look, Boruto. Could you please leave us alone for a while? Have a sleepover with one of your friends at _their_ house.” He proposed and grinned like an idiot.

Boruto almost exploded. His father had allowed that Sarada was tortured for _months._

Hinata detected that something was wrong. “Did something happen, Boruto?” She asked, worried about her child.

Only now, Naruto looked directly at his son and realised his anger. His grin vanished.

“Okay… What is on your mind, son?” He asked.

“What’s on _MY_ mind?!” Boruto yelled and threw the file in Naruto’s face. “ _THAT’S_ on my mind. How could you let this happen?!”

Confused Naruto held the falling pieces of the file and scanned over a few papers.

“Where did you get that?!” He raised his voice too. “These are confidential papers! Why do you put your nose into someone else’s business?!”

Hinata backed away and left the room. “I leave you two alone.”

“I did it for Sarada.” He answered his father.

“But how?!”

Boruto laughed - a short sarcastic noise. “It was no challenge to get them.”

“How dare you - !” The Hokage began. But the younger Uzumaki interrupted him.

“ _Please!_ As if you’ve always been a well-behaved and law-abiding shinobi! Especially, when it comes to your closest friends!”

Naruto’s anger vanished slowly and he picked up the papers on the ground.

“I know, you’re angry, but nobody could’ve known that _this_ would happen to Sarada and her team.” He said quietly.

Boruto wasn’t pacified. He still wanted to punch his dad. He clenched his hands to fists, until his finger nails dug deeply into his palm’s skin.

Naruto sighed and seemed endlessly tried. “I’m not happy how this mission turned out. And I blame myself for it too. But I can’t undo what happened.”

Boruto stayed quiet.

“Still, you had no right to get these files!” Naruto rebuked him.

“As I said, I did it for Sarada. She is not herself lately. She is very reserved. She seems nervous and sleeps very unwell. She eats scarcely. She barely speaks with any of us. I had to figure out why.” Boruto swallowed hard. “No wonder she can’t speak about _this_!” He pointed at the files. He would never betray Sarada; he wouldn’t tell his father that she talked with him about her ANBU mission. He wouldn’t ruin her reputation.

Naruto stared at the cover of the file. He was clearly concerned. Boruto knew that Sarada wasn’t just another kunoichi for his father. She was the daughter of his both best friends. For some time she had been his student, because she admired Naruto so much. And because she had the same dream he had – becoming Hokage. Naruto would probably never forgive himself for sending the young Uchiha away.

Boruto felt bad for upsetting his dad so much, still he went a step further.

“Do Sasuke-san and Auntie Sakura know about all of it? About the goddamn attempted rape?!” Boruto growled.

“Of course not!” His dad snapped and met Boruto’s gaze. The younger Uzumaki was caught off-guard by the tears in his father’s eyes.  “Why should I tell them all of this horrible stuff? Why do we talk about all this? What do you want, Boruto? Spill it out!”

Maybe it was the alcohol, which caused Naruto to show his emotion _that_ openly. Maybe he was just very afflicted by these events. But Boruto never saw him like that before.

“I want you to do something! Do not just sit in your office and do the paper work! Don’t let Sarada go again. Don’t let her leave! Send another troop of ANBUs. Send Sasuke-san! Or go yourself and wipe these asshole scientists out! I don’t care. Just don’t send her!” He yelled.

“You know Sarada wants to deal with this herself? She feels responsible for all that, because she was the captain and she had the command.” Naruto said.

“So what? It is too dangerous.” Boruto countered. “How could she face the people, who did all that to her – without being paralysed with horror?”

“I could barely stop her to go, when she woke up in the hospital. So we made a compromise. She can go, after she had some rest. Together with a bigger team, they could storm the bunker and free her team mates.” Naruto explained - he seemed to calm down already as if his decision to send Sarada was final.

Boruto shook his head.

“You don’t understand… Sarada isn’t in the condition to fight. She is traumatised-“ He began.

“I know you worry about her. But she is strong, she will handle it. And she isn’t alone.” His father said with compassion in voice.

“She wasn’t alone the last time and it didn’t help her at all! They still -!” His voice broke. “Do you _really_ think it had no effect on Sarada? She changed. Her gaze… It’s colder and darker. And when I asked her, she didn’t want to talk about it at all.” Boruto paused and quickly came up with a small lie to cover Sarada. “The only thing she told me that she would go on another mission soon. And afterwards she would feel better.”

“Of course, she would feel better after she rescued her team.”

“This wasn’t just about her team mates! It was about revenge, Dad! She wants to kill them all!” Boruto clarified.

For a short moment, the Hokage seemed shocked, but then he quickly put on a neutral face.

“She would never disobey. I would order them to catch as many as they can. We need to know if they are working for someone else.” Naruto said after some hesitation.

“I’m not so sure about that…” The younger Uzumaki muttered.

“I will talk with her and reconsider my decision about the mission. This is all I can promise.” His father said, finally.

“This is all, I wanted.” Boruto whispered and looked to the ground.

************************

**Sarada’s POV**

The next morning, Sarada woke up with a throbbing headache. The morning light broke through her window and blinded her. When she rolled on her side to hide from the brightness, her whole bed was swaying. She almost vomited and realised that she felt way too nauseous to sleep any more.

Slowly and careful she sat up. The throbbing pain in her head intensified. Her mouth was dry and she had an awful bitter taste on her tongue.

“Fuck…” Sarada muttered and held her head. She barely remembered last night. She knew everything from the ball and the thief incident. But after she decided to get really drunk on her own, it all became blurry. Boruto had been with her…he had been worried…and they had talked a lot.

She waited a few moments until the dizziness eased a little bit.

With uncertain steps, she made her way to the bathroom. But before she could brush her teeth, the nausea took over and she had to throw up into the toilette. The young Uchiha held her long, dark and thick hair back with one hand and steadied herself with the other. Her insides cramped once again.

A soft knock on the door announced her mother.

“Sarada, are you okay?” She asked worried.

Sarada’s whole body was trembling and she inhaled deeply.

“Yeah… I’m just great.” She lied out of breath.

“I’m coming in okay?” Sakura said and entered before her daughter could protest.

She didn’t look up; she didn’t want to see the disappointed in her mother’s eyes.

“Oh my poor girl…” Her mom sighed and rummaged in the bathroom cupboard. “Here, some Aspirin and something against nausea.”

Sarada flushed and stood up on her shaking legs. Then she washed her mouth and took the medicine from her mother. The young Uchiha avoided it to stare at the broken mirror or to meet her mother’s gaze.

“Boruto was here this morning. He told me about your stupid drinking contest with him.” Her mother said, surprisingly calm. “When he brought you home, you were angry and drunk… The mirror broke because of a little fight between you two. He didn’t look too bad – so I would say he won.”

Sarada didn’t show her surprise about Boruto’s lie.

“I’m sorry, Mama.” She muttered, still looking to the ground.

“I’m not angry, Sarada. I’m just worried. That’s very unusual of you. Normally, you’d know better.” Sakura explained.

“I … I don’t know what’s gotten into me.” Sarada answered and shrugged.

“I can image that you’re going through a lot lately… I just want you to know – I’m here for you, if you want to talk.”

Her mother tipped with two fingers against her forehead. So, she finally met her gaze. As always, her mother’s green eyes were full of warmth and love. Sarada could see how deeply her mom cared. It made her throat tie up. A part of her wanted to hug her mom, cry and tell her everything. But she couldn’t.

“I know. Thanks.” She answered briefly and took a step back.

Sarada saw that it obviously hurt her that she didn’t confide her secrets to her. Sakura’s upset gaze caused a sting in her chest.

“I don’t know… I just wanted to forget everything for one evening… So I was reckless and inattentive – and things got out of control.” She added and it wasn’t a lie. It would appease her mother’s worries.

“Alcohol isn’t the answer… But I’m glad that you’re honest with me.” Her mother said. “Come here.” She pulled Sarada into a hug and patted her head softly.

Sarada felt even worse - guilty for lying. After a while, she released the embrace and took a step back.

“I still got a lot to do, before I can set out tomorrow. So I better hurry now.” The young Uchiha said and quickly changed the subject. A wide smile appeared on her face, when she realised that the next day, everything would take a turn for the better. Every fibre of her wanted to join the observation ANBU group and finally free her team. Only then she would be able to process the horrible time in the bunker. Only then she would be able to find peace with herself again.

“I know you ‘have’ to go… still, are you sure you’re ready for this? There is no need to be ashamed, if you leave it up to the others. You still need rest.” Her mother said with fear in her eyes. She was afraid that her only child would get injured again.

Sarada reached out and held her mother’s hand.

“I am ready, Mama. And you’re right, I have to go. They are my team. I can’t leave them behind.” She squeezed her hands gently.

Sakura looked to the ground and sighed. “I understand.”

 

 

After Sarada drank a lot of water and had a half of a bun, the medication started to work. She recovered quickly from the hangover, so she decided to get dressed and make her way to the ANBU facility. Her mood got even better when the wind stroke the hair out of her face and the sun warmed her back. The fresh air cleared her head and in her mind she listed the weapons and the equipment she needed for her mission.

When she reached the building, she passed the guards at the entrance and greeted them with a nod. Sarada went directly to the changing room and opened her locker. Last time she was here, she had taken most of her useful gear with her for her mission. She still remembered how excited she has been. This excitement overwhelmed her once again - even though it was mixed with hatred and fear.

To distract herself, she checked the belt bag for her kunai and shuriken. But this one was filled with her scuffed training-weapons. Even if she would sharpen them again, they weren’t reliable weapons anymore.

So she took a new notebook out her locker and wrote everything down she needed. When she escaped the bunker, she had no time to search for any of her equipment, which meant that she had a very long shopping list. Afterwards she took out one of her hawk masks and closed her locker.

Sarada went to the armoury and handed the list to the ANBU at the counter.

“Taka, it’s been a long time since you were here.” He greeted her and used her code name.

She just greeted him with a nod; she didn’t want to tell him why she has been away for such a long time.

“Hmmm… a complete new set of equipment, I see. Okay, I will get you everything but some are in the warehouse in the cellar.” His eyes quickly skimmed through the list.

“That’s alright. I need it for tomorrow, so I got time.” Sarada answered with a smile.

“You can’t wait to go out again, can you?” He asked. Suddenly, his eyes widened and stared at something behind her.

Quickly, Sarada turned around, ready to defend herself. But there was no enemy behind her; it was her mentor and idol.

“Nanadaime!” She exclaimed surprised.

“Your mother told me that I would find you here. We need to talk.” Naruto answered with a serious look on his face.

Sarada frowned. That was weird. Normally, Naruto-sama had a wide smile on his face when he met his student.

“Is something wrong?” The young Uchiha asked, alarmed by his averse attitude.

 “Meet me in my office, in five minutes.” He said without answering her question. With a hand seal, the shadow clone of her master vanished.

Sarada bit her bottom lip. What was wrong? Did something happen at the bunker? Did something happen to Ryu, Miyu or the observation team?

“Just go. I will prepare your equipment for tomorrow.” The ANBU said to her.

“Thank you. I will come back later.” Sarada replied and left the building.

 

 

 

On time, Sarada stood in front of the Hokage office. For any reason her heart was pounding hard. Why was she so nervous? She inhale deeply and tried to calm herself. Everything would be alright when she brought Ryu and Miyu back to the village.

She knocked two times and Naruto invited her in.

“Nanadaime-sama.” She greeted him and lowered her head respectfully, after she closed the door behind her.

“Sarada. We have to talk about your mission.” Her master said dead serious.

Her heart skipped a beat and she swallowed hard before she could answer. “Did the observation team send you a message? Did something happen in the bunker?”

“No everything happens according to plan. It’s rather concerning you…” He said and stood up.

“Me?” Sarada repeated. Her elation, she had felt during her preparations, was blotted out.

Naruto turned his back on her, unable to look into her eyes.

“Yes. I’m not so sure, if I should let you go.” The Hokage said.

_BUT YOU HAVE TO!_ Sarada wanted to scream, but she bit her bottom lip and held herself back.

“Why? What changed your mind?” She asked coldly.

“You’re parents are very worried. And they aren’t the only ones.” He said.

The young Uchiha snorted. “Of course, they’re worried. Especially my Mom is always worried when I go onto a dangerous mission.”

“Sarada, these people tortured you for months. It would be cruel of me to send you to them again.”

“It’s not like you’re forcing me to do it. I want to go. It’s fine!” Sarada countered.

Naruto quickly turned around to her. His light-blue eyes were glimmering angrily. “It’s not fine. Don’t lie to me!” His voice got louder.

She took a step back as if he had hit her. “I don’t understand.” She said truly confused.

“I’ve heard that you’ve changed a lot since you’re back. You don’t talk, you avoid your friends, and you’re barely eating or sleeping. You’re just training, even though the doctors told you to take it easy for a while. Normally, you would listen to the doctors and spend time with your friends.”

Her gaze darkened. Who talked Naruto into believing that she wasn’t ready for this? Her mother? No, she was very understanding this morning…

“I can’t talk about confidential information.” She defended herself. “Also I want to complete this mission. While I was chained up, I became a little rusty, so I needed the hard training. I want to go! I’m ready! I don’t understand what I did wrong to deserve this punishment.”

The Hokage pressed his lips together and his eyes softened.

“Sarada, I don’t want to punish you. I want to help you. You don’t have to be ashamed that you’re traumatised –“ He began.

“So what?!” She snapped. Sarada knew it was a mistake to admit it. And she had tried so hard to hide it since she was back. She had put on a mask, smiled and talked about trivialities, even though she felt nothing inside. She had thought it was enough to deceive her family and friends. The only thing that she cared about was to free the rest of her team and to defeat these ‘scientists’.  It was all that mattered to her.

Naruto stared at her, frozen by her reaction. She’s never been so outrageous towards him before.

Anger and hate blazed up in her eyes. “I don’t care about the things they did to me.” Clearly a lie, but these emotions were irrelevant to her compared to the feelings towards her team. “The only thing, I care about right now, is my team! I took the responsibility and lead them into this mess. Maybe they did the torture, but it’s my fault that Shiro is dead. It’s my fault Ryu and Miyu still wake up every day, waiting for the next ‘session’. I will never be able to make it up to them again. I will never be able to turn back time and undo all of this. But this – right now – is something I _can_ do! So please let me!” Sarada begged.

Silence.

Sarada could see how torn her master was. Her words reached him, but he was in conflict with something else.

“You’re too emotionally involved. How can I expect from you to be cool-headed and rational, when things get out of control? We can’t say for sure what will happen when you all storm the bunker.” He said finally.

“But – !“ She tried to contradict, but the Hokage raised one hand and implied that she should stay silent.

“What if one of you team members dies, when you try to rescue them? Can I be sure you won’t slaughter these criminals?” He asked. The young Uchiha knew Naruto wanted these monsters alive. He needed their information; he needed to be sure there aren’t more of them. He needed to know, if they’re connected to any country. They would become the ones who would be interrogated.

“Of course, I would never disobey! I know you need this information.” Sarada said. But something in her eyes or in her voice made Naruto doubts it. At least he didn’t seem convinced.

“What if you get hit by their poison needles again? We still don’t have an antidote to their creation. I can’t send you away, when there is the possibility that you have to through the same shit again! I can’t do that to you. I heard what it done to you already and I know you want revenge.”

_Revenge._ Sarada knew he spoke the truth. She wanted to pay back the pain they’ve caused. It scared herself, how much she wanted it. But she never told anyone about these thoughts.

“I can’t accept this responsibility.” His voice was firm and it was his final decision.

Sarada clenched her fists. Anger, frustration and debasement, these feelings tumbled so fast inside of her that she couldn’t have any clear thought. Who changed her master’s mind? How could he know about her wish for revenge? Who could see through her façade? Who could read her like an open book?

There was only one answer.

Boruto.

He had betrayed her.

“When you think, I’m not ready for this…” She muttered and delved into her back belt bag.

“I have to accept that I failed.” She took out her ANBU mask and traced the red ornaments of the hawk face.

Naruto wanted to response but she was faster.

“I quit.” Sarada Uchiha said and let go of her mask. When it hit the ground, it broke into pieces.

She turned around and left the office without listening to her master.

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> I hope you enjoyed the chapter. Sorry I took so long (again)  
> Please comment you thoughts about it down below :) I’m very curious about your opinions ^^  
> Thanks for reading, leave Kudos if you like


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